Overflow thread

Hello

The only game in town

by rebrak on Aug 31, 2008 4:51 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Well

We could still pull a “Rock-tober.”

On with the (good) youth movement!

by aet15 on Aug 31, 2008 5:03 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

C.C. Throws 1 hitter

Brewers celebrate it as no-hitter and are appealing the scorers ruling that it was a hit instead of an error on C.C.

Still looking for 1985 Regular Season games on DVD/VHS

by Hardcore Legend on Aug 31, 2008 5:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

did they take their shirts off?

by adiueordie on Aug 31, 2008 5:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If he had got a no-hitter they might have taken their pants off. Really wouldn't suprise me.

by KYCards on Aug 31, 2008 5:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

so i just watched the video of la roche's single

if they change that to an error i’ll shit the bed.

by adiueordie on Aug 31, 2008 5:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I thought Laroche was a stud...... He has awful numbers right now, Brendan Ryan type offense

by ICbirdfan on Aug 31, 2008 8:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

if it was his error

it should count as a hit. It’s still his fault the guy got on base.

On with the (good) youth movement!

by aet15 on Aug 31, 2008 6:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

So if we finish the season on a wimper

and finish in 4th place is it still a lock that Tony will be the manager next season? I know it’s his choice but it kind of makes me wonder. Although there is really no where else for him to go. And going to Cincy because of Jocketty won’t be a factor because they are in pretty bad shape and won’t be a contender for a few more years even if they had Tony & Dunc. I bet he will be back though so this is just pretty much a waste of a post huh.

by KYCards on Aug 31, 2008 5:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

well, he’s in year one of a two year contract. pujols, carpenter, wainwright, molina, and glaus are all under contract for next year. why wouldn’t he be back?

by adiueordie on Aug 31, 2008 5:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think he will

But Shannon is always dropping hints that Tony might decide to leave after this season….Tony and Mike are friends and I’m sure he has talked to Tony about this….but you never know…I think Shannon also predicted that Tony would retire right after the 06 World Series and that didn’t happen.

by KYCards on Aug 31, 2008 5:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If we finish #4 in the division

that will be two year in a row that a LaRussa led team was in playoff contention in the end of August and fell apart over the final month.

In fact, that’d be 3 years in a row. Luckily, we had a huge enough lead that we made the playoffs (and won the whole damn thing in ’06).

That’s hard to swallow. You have to give him a ton of credit for getting them to be in contention midway through August but to continually go on epic slides with a month and a half left to go on the season smacks of Willie Randolph.

Still looking for 1985 Regular Season games on DVD/VHS

by Hardcore Legend on Aug 31, 2008 6:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't know....

I think a collapse was going to happen, it is just a matter of when…. There are just too many holes on the team to overcome.

The offense over a full season looks good, however when you break down games they have flaws. Like if you look at Rick’s numbers you think wow, however when you watch him everyday he really has terrible stretches……..You know it’s like Ryan Howard, his numbers look good but he is one of the last guys I want up in an important AB because he is way too easy to strike out.

by ICbirdfan on Aug 31, 2008 8:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

but the one year they made the playoffs they won a championship.

as you already said, of course.

i just wanted to put that further out there.

also, comparing tony la russa to willie randolph is a huge fucking stretch. i really hope you weren’t serious about that, hl.

by adiueordie on Sep 1, 2008 12:39 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wow Cubs loose 2 in a row at Wrigley

how many times has that happened this season? It’s sure is nice to see them play a contender for once.

by KYCards on Aug 31, 2008 5:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

eckstein traded

eckstein traded to d-backs for pitcher chad beck.

by KeepOnRolen on Aug 31, 2008 5:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

just in time

In the world I see--you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Tower. And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying strips of venison on the empty carpool lane of some abandoned superhighway.

by Tackle Box on Aug 31, 2008 6:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

perfect timing cause i've got tickets...

for all three games in phoenix…

by jheath on Aug 31, 2008 8:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

has it been determined where he's going to play?

I was about to made some smart ass comment like “good thing you have tix to all 3 games….you might get to see him pinch hit”. But I was just looking at mlb.com’s depth chart and they have him listed as the number 1 2nd baseman.

Hmm. Now that I look at B-R and i see he’s played 6 games at 2nd this year. FWIW, he’s played 8 as the DH. And people here were pissed at some of our DH options……

In the world I see--you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Tower. And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying strips of venison on the empty carpool lane of some abandoned superhighway.

by Tackle Box on Sep 1, 2008 12:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

i wondered the same thing

i don’t really know crap about the diamondbacks roster. i heard initially they wanted to put him at second. it can’t be any worse than aaron miles at short stop, right? i’d take that i guess, if there weren’t better options available.

by adiueordie on Sep 1, 2008 12:58 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

actually, I think he'd make a pretty decent 2nd baseman

Honestly, when the Cards signed him to that 3 year deal 4 years ago, I really thought he’d be playing 2nd by the 3rd year of that deal.

btw, the comment about not knowing the d-backs roster is making me type this. There’s no way in hell he plays ahead of Stephen Drew at shortstop. Not sure if you knew about him or not, but wanted to get that out there.

In the world I see--you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Tower. And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying strips of venison on the empty carpool lane of some abandoned superhighway.

by Tackle Box on Sep 1, 2008 1:03 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

i remember him now

j.d.‘s little bro. my brother keeps telling me to watch the d’backs, even before they got dunn. they’re definitely my team in the playoffs this year i guess if the cards don’t make it. no cubs or brewers, please. mets or phillies, for that matter. maybe i just haven’t spent enough time on the west coast to follow those teams.

eckstein for wsmvp again.

by adiueordie on Sep 1, 2008 1:07 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

this happened last year.....

Orlando Hudson got hurt and Auggie Ojeda steped in and played 2B. He actually played very well, maybe the DBacks are getting a back up plan to Ojeda.

I don’t get it? Ojeda is a switch hitter?

Just depth? I really don’t get the move unless something is wrong with Ojeda

by ICbirdfan on Sep 1, 2008 1:12 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

ojeda

doesn’t have two rings.

by adiueordie on Sep 1, 2008 1:16 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If the Cards don't make it

I’m rooting for the Angels. Used to have a thing for them way way back, and went to a game last year in Anaheim. Had an absolute blast and besides, they’re a fun team to watch. (I’m a closet Rally Monkey fan).

And I am that guy who will literally root for anyone against the cubs. I’m real bad with that.

In the world I see--you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Tower. And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying strips of venison on the empty carpool lane of some abandoned superhighway.

by Tackle Box on Sep 1, 2008 1:13 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

angels

remind me a bit of whitey ball. at least the closest thing to it in our day.

i gotta root NL all the way unless its, well, the cubs, brewers, phillies, or mets (not just because they’re in it this year. though, the brewers are my addition to that club this year). i’ll be all about the angels if they play any of those four teams. i don’t really care for the american league, in general.

by adiueordie on Sep 1, 2008 1:16 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

fair enough...

i’d like to see him pinch hit, being how i wasn’t expecting to see him regardless…but as a lifelong cardinals fan, and a very recent phoenix resident…i listen to a lot of sports radio…and people here aren’t huge fans of augie ojeda…so as soon as i heard that, before they even announced he’d play second, i had an idea that’s where he’d end up…

by jheath on Sep 1, 2008 1:34 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Fork 'em

I think we’re done boys. The Germans have bombed Pearl Harbor…5.5 back with less than 30.

But hey – hopefully they’ll play a hard nine and give us something good to watch through the end of the season.

I have discovered in twenty years of moving around a ball park, that the knowledge of the game is usually in inverse proportion to the price of the seats. ~Bill Veeck

by bukowski on Aug 31, 2008 6:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

6.5 back

even worse.

For the #2 offense in the National League, we sure do get dominated a lot.

Still looking for 1985 Regular Season games on DVD/VHS

by Hardcore Legend on Aug 31, 2008 6:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

despite all the accolades

i think we are where we are despite tony, not because of him. lots of reasons as have been articulated over the past month or so, but over manipulative, micro-managing based on invalid statistical analysis leads the pack closely followed by trying to keep 4 mediocre middle infielders “sharp” and not letting luddy become a regular for far too long, losing reyes, among others.

"No matter where you go, there you are" Buckeroo Bonzai Across the 8th Dimension

by sportsman on Aug 31, 2008 9:55 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

reyes?

sorry to nitpick. i agree with some of the other stuff. but reyes?

i guess tony only gets a one year pass after winning a championship. what if we won in 04 and 05?

you’d probably say the same thing. they won despite tony, every game, every time, every year. managers don’t really matter i guess.

it’s always tony’s fault. granted, i scratch my head a lot when i see some of the decisions he makes, but then i remember that he knows a thing or two about baseball that i don’t.

what part of his statistical analysis is invalid, by the way? if you could pull the blanket off and show me a long term trend of his that backs that up, i’d love to see it.

i never set out to be a la russa apologist. i just get sick of reading comment after comment about how the source of all of the team’s problems is one of the most successful managers in the history of baseball. who would you rather have? i never see anyone make a case for what would happen if we had “realistic manager a or b” running the team.

its all just armchair managing. its something we all do at times, but after every cardinals loss it tends to reach a crescendo that even i can’t stand.

by adiueordie on Sep 1, 2008 12:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

agreed...........

TLR pisses me off at times but I am not going to say the team wins “in spite of him” thats BS……..

I don’t know how is a better manager? Ron Gardenhire, he is a damb good manager and is about the only guy I can think of that gets more out of his players consistantly than Larussa. I mean go look at the Twins roster and try not to puke.

by ICbirdfan on Sep 1, 2008 1:15 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

you could say the same about girardi

with the marlins in the nl east.

but you put him in the al east with a better roster and isn’t so easy. you take a manager out of the al central this year and put them in the nl central (best division in baseball this year) and see if things turn out the same. maybe they do. speculation.

no argument, by the way. just playing devil’s advocate.

by adiueordie on Sep 1, 2008 1:20 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

There were plenty of people who thought Girardi was over-rated when he was with the Marlins

That was a pretty good team. Granted, it was a young team, but pretty talented. But I always thought the thing with Girardi was his style, which I thought would have much better impact with a team like he had in Florida. I thought he’d struggle with a team like the Yankees, although I figured there’d be personality conflicts but there really hasn’t been.

In the world I see--you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Tower. And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying strips of venison on the empty carpool lane of some abandoned superhighway.

by Tackle Box on Sep 1, 2008 1:28 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He's also one of the losingest managers in baseball

for what it’s worth.

The argument against ‘Mad Dog’ LaRussa as he was called before the World Series win was no matter how good a team you give him (2002, 2004, 2005) or how close you get to the WS (1996, 2002), he’d find a way to tense up the team, put out some crazy lineup or over manage the game and people would blame the team’s failures on him. Is that fair to do so? I don’t know. I don’t think he’s the problem with everything, that’d be foolish.

However, continuing on the late season collapses theme, it may be of some interest to examine in quirk in what might cause/stave off them: late season acquisitions.

2002, team gets Rolen, wins 38 games in the last two months
2003, no major move, wins 29 games and misses playoffs
2004, acquires Walker, wins 39 games
2005, no major move, wins 31 games in last two months
2006, no major move, wins 25 games
2007, no major move, wins 28 games
2008, no major move, ???

This is such a simplistic look it’s somewhat funny, but it appears that in ordered to play inspired baseball late in the season, we need to drastically improve the roster. Food for thought in 2009.

Still looking for 1985 Regular Season games on DVD/VHS

by Hardcore Legend on Sep 1, 2008 1:28 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

wow

nice stats

by jheath on Sep 1, 2008 1:42 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe Mo needed to make a move.........

I think it was obvoius that the team was not complete but it was not worth giving up the necessary piece to make a splash.

I don’t know but I think Milwaukee is fine with giving up Laporta at this point and time. CC is just kicking ass and taking names. Dear god I hope the Brew Crew does not get him signed.

He is better than Carp and Wainer. Easy to be better than Carp since CC is actually healthy and I think he is a better pitcher than Wainer.

by ICbirdfan on Sep 1, 2008 1:44 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

mil was screwed no matter what

they won’t be able to re-sign both sheets and sabathia, and likely will have to choose between keeping even one of them and fielder after next year. making the win-now move for sabathia made a lot of sense for them, in a 2003 marlins kind of way.

After next year, when they are forced to trade or pay fielder, they will be regretting trading laporta, unless they get a flag this year. But that’s baseball, when you’re a small-market team. Ordinarily I’d be rooting for them in the playoffs, but due to their juvenile attitudes I’ll be wishing the best of luck to whoever plays them…

the ******* plane has crashed into the mountain.

by SleepyCA on Sep 1, 2008 2:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If they're playing the cubs

I can look past the juvenile behavior.

Question: After a win, I would prefer:

A) to see Brewers players un-tuck their jerseys

B) to hear cub fans sing that stupid ass song.

In the world I see--you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Tower. And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying strips of venison on the empty carpool lane of some abandoned superhighway.

by Tackle Box on Sep 1, 2008 3:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

HL has a good point

You got to kind of wonder if Mo would have picked up another starter or a “impact bat” if we would be in better shape right now. Of course one could say there was really no one available but it kind of makes you wonder “what if?” I agree Food for thought for 2009.

by KYCards on Sep 1, 2008 1:44 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

it's the mentality

that the front office believes in you enough to pick someone up that also helps. By not making a move, there’s a sort of “do they really have confidence in us?” feeling that goes around the clubhouse.

So here’s my question: think Lohse would pass through waivers?

On with the (good) youth movement!

by aet15 on Sep 1, 2008 1:52 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

if a team

wants a pitcher for september only.

if he’s gonna pitch in october they would have had to pick up him yesterday.

by adiueordie on Sep 1, 2008 1:54 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Strauss, etc

were saying for the month before the deadline that the clubhouse was in a state of “What have you heard? Who are they getting us?”

Then, when the deadline passed, Mo and Tony played it off as a bunch of guys being scared they’d be traded or lose their jobs and that they were grateful that didn’t happen.

Still looking for 1985 Regular Season games on DVD/VHS

by Hardcore Legend on Sep 1, 2008 1:57 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm not sure about this situation

but I know there is some truth in those statement’s generally.

In order to add something of value, someone is going to lose their job. Whether it’s by trade or by demotion. Some way, some how someone loses their job.

A lot of times, clubhouses are very tight. Even the guys we consider to be the weak links. And a lot of times there is a pride that goes along with wanting to be the right team and not need outside help. Now, once again, I remember reading certain things (but I believe most i read were reported here so I’m not sure of the complete context and such), but I do know that typically major league ballplayers don’t openly campaign for one of their teammates to lose his job.

I’m not disagreeing with you, just putting that out there.

In the world I see--you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Tower. And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying strips of venison on the empty carpool lane of some abandoned superhighway.

by Tackle Box on Sep 1, 2008 10:16 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

brett favre is the career interceptions leader in the nfl

you have to be nominated for homecoming court a lot to lead the high school in career homecoming king votes. you win some, you lose some. so it goes.

the roster in march isn’t worrying about a july roster move. they want to go all the way with the girl that got them there, vodka tucked under the dress and all.

by adiueordie on Sep 1, 2008 1:52 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

also

“This is such a simplistic look it’s somewhat funny, but it appears that in ordered to play inspired baseball late in the season, we need to drastically improve the roster. Food for thought in 2009.”

none of that demonstrates the postseason successes or failures of those teams. which is all that really matters.

no offense. i enjoy everything you post, hl. i disagree with a lot of it, but you present everything very well. +.5

by adiueordie on Sep 1, 2008 2:00 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

the invalid stats comment

is due to his propensity for using a players’ historic performance against a given pitcher as if it were a useful bit of information. The uncertainty in a sample size of a typical players PA-vs-given pitcher is several orders of magnitude too high to be useful.

/(pet peeve)

And FWIW, I think the fact that he DIDN’T win in ’04 and ’05, despite being handed the best team in either league, is not something that should be used in his defense.

TLR is better than most, but that does not move him beyond the realm of question.

the ******* plane has crashed into the mountain.

by SleepyCA on Sep 1, 2008 2:09 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

you're right,

he isn’t beyond the realm of question. no one is.

i just get tired of the perception that he’s responsible for every cardinals loss, as many around here seem to think.

he’s going to be in the hall of fame one day wearing a cardinals cap and number ten will be on the left field wall. at that point in time many of us will perhaps wish he was still around.

by adiueordie on Sep 1, 2008 6:53 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs