Keeping an eye on the Natspos as well.
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Keeping an eye on the Natspos as well.
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
Blast from today’s transactions:
Atlantic League
NASHUA PRIDE-Agreed to terms with RHP Kevin McGlinchy.
If clemens keeps it up the braves should be in first all alone with a win tonight.
Sounds good to me.
5 IP, 9 K for Clemens. Crazy.
Clemens is a frickin MACHINE!
Remember when he was “done”? Ha! Wasn’t that like 5 years ago? Unbelievable.
I actually remember having a conversation circa 1995 or 1996 in which I was arguing that Clemens wasn’t a Hall of Fame pitcher. Granted, my baseball knowledge was relatively unsophisticated then, but I figured that even though he had like 3 CY Youngs at that point, he was done, his counting numbers weren’t good enough, and he would be seen as someone who let a once-great career flicker out.
About six months later he was with the Blue Jays, posting the first of two frickin’ amazing seasons in a row, followed by close to another decade of almost unrelenting dominance (a brief fade to mere above average in the early 2000s, but now he’s back). Needless to say, I can’t think of anything I’ve been more wrong about in my whole life.
It is unfair to expect the Natspos to score runs against Clemens. Clemens can pitch 18 innings and the Natspos will still not be able to score any runs against him.
At their prime which would you fine ladies and gentlemen take… Clemens or Maddux?
Maddux. Just look at his ERA’s during his prime. Absolutely ridiculous. 2.18, 2.36, 1.56, 1.63, 2.72, 2.20, 2.22. When 2.72 looks high, you know you’re in an amazing stretch. Clemens has never approached those numbers with the consistency that Maddux displayed.
The classic peak vs. length argument. IMNSHO, Maddux had a better peak, Clemens has been more durable.
I think if you have to choose, you prefer the higher peak player, because he gives you a better chance at a championship in one year. Obviously, it didn’t work out that way for these two players, but that had a lot to do with the other players on their respective teams.
Did anyone else hear the fans chant “larry” before that hit?
For my taste, I had long preferred Maddox because he seemed to be a “pitcher” not a “thrower.” During the stretch of absolute ridiculousness, Maddox never overwhelmed the opposition with power–it was control and tactics. Lately though, it is clear that Clemens is no mere “thrower.” Tactics and control are every bit as central to his game as is his power. When he’s on, he is unhittable. When Maddox was on–in the past–, batters “simply” (as it it was easy…) could adjust to him by taking what he gave them–weak grounders and weak fly balls. No way to do that with Clemens. And if you try to bunt on him, the next time you most certainly will have a fastball screech by your noggin. Damn, Clemens mixes another attribute–meaness–that Maddox didn’t employ against anyone. His glove hand though did take quite a bit of abuse (as he often yelled into it for missing his target–probably by an inch). So, now I’m coming around to enjoying Clemens in the twilight of his career–although I’m foolish for pronouncing it to be a twilight. The way the guy’s pitching, he could be striking out grandchildren of players he faced in the late ’80s.
You know, the Nats have a bad record in 13-run games.
ZING!
They’ve been saying all year that if you can score five against the Nats, you can beat them. Apparently someone said that to the Astros and they lost all sense of proportion….
14-1 is a rough night. Go bravos 🙂
Maddog all the way. The ERA was ridiculous in the mid-90’s. He left it up to his team to score 1-2 runs in order to win a game. Clemens has shown more dominating stuff since his move to the NL. He got 87% of the Cy Young vote with the Yankees in 2001, even though he was bested in ERA by almost every also ran. 6.6 runs per game that year won him 20 games. Im not sure Maddux ever had that type of support. Thus, in their respective prime, I take Maddux.
p.s. Clemens shut it down with the Red Sox during his last few years in Boston. (40-39 over last 4 years) Then, being one of the games All-Star Assholes, got back in form in Toronto and proclaimed himself a vindicated, and the Boston management fools for not giving him the money he wanted. Sorry “rocket”, but when you get out-pitched by Charlie Leibrandt during the last two years of your contract, dont think a club owes you substantial raise.
Asshole-ness aside, what I’m discussing is a preferrence for the craft of pitching. What they are like in real life matters little to me. I don’t watch baseball because the players are nice, cool, whatever. Whether they are assholes matters especially little to me because they are not my friends, peers, neighbors…nor are they ever likely to be so. I watch it because it is a craft, like writing, speaking in public, laboring in wood, metal, rock, and many other examples. As such, the particular craft in baseball that I get off to is pitching. Sure, a pitcher can attack a hitter with pure power, but those types (like Rob Dibble) tend to have million dollar arms and two cent heads. And more importantly they flame out when their arms flame out. So, I’m much more interested in pitchers that approach (or seem to approach) the game tactically, using both power and finesse, using not just a talented arm (as most major league pitchers have) but also a talented brain (perhaps only intuitively so). Watching Mad-dog in the ’90s and to a lesser degree today (for about 5 innings) is such an experience. He has rarely just thrown the ball past the hitter. Watching Clemens early on in his career was not such an experience. Sure he worked up and down and threw hard. And yes he excelled in the quality of a mean streak. But he was more a thrower than a pitcher. Today, as he has for the last few years, he pitches. He doesn’t always throw the ball past hitters. Sometimes he just makes them look foolish. He’s an artist. So, right now he is as fun to watch and admire as Mad dog was in the ’90s. Both are artists. Of course, I hate the SOB when he uses this artistry of pure evil (as it must be known) when he does so against the Braves. But agains the Nationals–damn, that’s good fun…
Hudson’s having a rough outing.
TRADE HUDSON FOR LIDGE
I agree Jeff, pure pitchers are much more fun to watch that throwers. Once and awhile, you get a mix of the two, like Smoltz. He can blow you away, or he can make you look foolish with a breaking pitch. I think your right about the million dollar arm 2 cent head thing, just look at guys like Rocker, Dibble, etc….
“the particular craft in baseball that I get off to is pitching”, well, Dostoevsky, i hope you had a towel near by for tonights performance, cuz the rocket shut em down.
I spotted the Road from Bristol while aimlessly wasting time on the internet. you may have already noticed this, but if not, here’s more accolades.
http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/shots/
Hello? Anyone here? Oh, well, I can talk to myself. Why do we always rally when there’s no time left?
Had our chance in the 8th to make it close
Clutch hit from KJ there, huh?
wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
…and just like that….we’re tied.
Never say die!
Oh my God. YES! YES! YES!
Sorry, I’m a little excited. A lot excited. I’ll be back in a sec, just have to get the A-1 sauce for my crow.
SOmewhere, Bowden is weeping.
Why did their pitching coach just get ejected?
so assuming we don’t get to Langerhans this inning, KJ comes out and Francouer stays in, yes?
seriously, how slow does andruw get out of the box. madness!
Complaining about Ball 2 and Ball 3 to KJ. By the way, for those not having to watch this game on FSN Arizona, Mark Grace is one of the six worst color men in world history.
Can someone answer my question? How do you get ejected for arguing balls and strikes if it was a strike for your pitcher? Was that it and I’m just crazy or was it something else?
any relation to Rheal?
Sorry, didn’t refresh the page. Thanks, Jonathan!
Shame Franco’s been burned already.
I’m watching on mlb.tv – Estrada is up. Fiona just had her midnight feeding and is semi-sleeping in the other room. She made me miss the rest of the inning, oh well 🙂
Can someone fill me in? Gameday froze on ball 1 to Chipper. I’m lost.
That pitch looked inside.
Estrada just K’d looking, I didn’t see Chipper or Laroche’s at bats.
Suffice to say that Laroche and Estrada could have broken this one open for two straight innings and didn’t.
NO! It’s KOLBB!
Everyones buddy, Estrada K’s to end the inning.
Sportsline has Kolb in, bating 2nd next inning and Francouer out – TELL ME THIS HAS TO BE A TYPO.
Heres Kolbs chance to prove he belongs back in the closer role…even tho its not a save situation. Still a good chance to prove he cant get hitters out.
*prays he doesnt walk Glaus*
1 out. We’re 33.333% through. Come on…
I don’t carfe so much about Kolb pitching – knowing Reitsma MUST be spared for save situations(tm) at all costs – but wasting Francouer, and forcing the team to use it’s last PH in Betemit, besides the BU catcher, is just insane.
Kolb isn’t throwing as hard as he was and his sinker is biting more.
Betemit and McCann still on the bench right, anyone else?
I’m not one to question Bobby Cox. So I’m not worried about it. He knows what hes doing 😉
Location is still bad, though 🙁
correct.
you are right spike, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. maybe our genius manager had a brain fart.
Apparently, BOB has a special area right behind home plate for people to stand there talking on their cell phones, telling the folks at home, “Hey, I’m on the teevee!”
Wow. He got through it unscathed. To the 10th, and please can we win quickly? I have to go to bed.
We survive another Kolb-arama. Now we can use pitchers. Free baseball.
Ahh, a ground ball. Nice to see for a change 🙂
Ok one hit, no runs…hes continuing his good play. Hopefully he keeps this up
Now I am really confused. What the hell did Betemit do to Cox anyway?
Sorry – sportsline had Kolb hitting for a minute
yahoo’s is a bit quicker than sportsline fyi
well, at least the lineup change is a moot point now, sort of.
Excellent AB from Raffy there.
It’s 1:00. I’m going to bed. Good luck, Braves!
Yea good call jenny…golfing early tomm…hopefully ill wake up to sole possesion of first place..nito
well, a good come back. all i saw was a ball go over the fence.
DBACKS win. : (
What a waste!
damn brower.
Ouch. See y’all tomorrow…
Good thing we kept Reitsma out for that save situation. I’d MUCH rather lose a game with my 4th best releiver rather than get my precious closer’s nails dirty.
I guess this is another good example of how ‘momentum’ is not something that always comes into play in baseball. It seems like it does at times (and may, in fact, do so, though I would like to see someone try to prove it by anything more than anecdotes); but, IMHO, if momentum had any mojo, Braves would have won tonight. Oh well, it was a spirited effort.