On the Chuck James argument, I may be misremembering, but I’m not sure I agree that James gets gassed by the 6th inning because it’s the 3rd time around and the opposing team has figured him out.
Doesn’t he often take his time running through the order the first couple times? He strikes me as a guy who always makes you nervous, pitches with people on base, works up his inning-by-inning pitch counts. If he could pitch a little more efficiently — you know, the opposite of Kim Jong-Il — he might have more in the tank by the end.
That is, I think he’s done in the 6th inning because he’s exhausted and loses command, not because he doesn’t have enough stuff.
But I’m no Carlos Gomez. Just my 2 cents.
Cary
on October 1, 2007 at 5:27 pm
Oh, so I guess no MVP award for the “Most Exciting Player in Baseball” *puke*
———
After Jose Reyes popped out for the fourth time in six innings and his average for The Homestand That Did In The Season fell to .161, the crowd blasted him with boos. Three innings later, they reprised the sentiment, when his 0-for-5 was complete, and his average for the week had shrunk to .156 (5-for-32).
Ol’ Chipper can back his way into the batting title with an 0-4 night from Holliday, right? (as the Braves postseason chances were, highly unlikely) It will be a matter of few one-hundreds of a point, but I think the math is in favor of Chipper. Go Peavy!!
Congrats on the Best of Atlanta mention, Mac. 🙂
RobBroad4th
on October 1, 2007 at 8:26 pm
Coors Field beat Chipper Jones by fractions of a fraction. We all know who deserves that title. Minus the freak hand injury month, Chipper has had a stellar year and shows a passion for the game that Andruw (and apparently Jose Reyes) has been lacking as of late.
Speaking of passion, I’m watching this SD/Col game with very little.
On one hand, I’d like to see Greg Maddux get a couple more post-season starts; on the other, I wouldn’t mind seeing a Phils-Rocks series (crazy lineups, insane ballparks).
So I guess I kinda don’t care.
'Rissa
on October 1, 2007 at 9:33 pm
If the SD-COL game ends up tied after nine, I vote they end it right there and declare the teams perfectly even. Then they take the best 25 guys from both teams and call them the Rockres and become the team to beat in the NL. Home games could be in Colorado the first round, San Diego the second, and they could flip a coin for the World Series.
Just glancing at Rivera’s body of post-season work should make anybody regret ever bringing it up.
And Hoffman didn’t help his case tonight. I know that park is tough, but he got rocked.
Dan
on October 2, 2007 at 1:16 am
When Hoffman blows a one run lead in the bottom of the ninth in game seven of the World Series, get back to me.
Tom L
on October 2, 2007 at 1:46 am
Allowing 3 runs to lose an elimination game isn’t too terribly different than game 7 of the world series…
timo
on October 2, 2007 at 2:35 am
What a most unlikely NL playoff… No Braves, Mets, Padres, Dodgers? The NL sucks.
Stephen
on October 2, 2007 at 3:48 am
Wasn’t it about a month ago that the Mets swept the Braves?…how the mighty have fallen….The NL is as weak as it as been in my lifetime and yet the Cardinals won in 2006.
There is good story in the NYT on the Mets’ demise:
I can’t say that I am happy to see Jimmy Rollins vindicated; most important (and most awful), the Mets experienced a historic collapse that Braves could not take advantage….
bamadan
on October 2, 2007 at 6:11 am
From one of the few to be around these parts nearly since the beginning last decade: Congrats on the write-up Mac!
Smitty
on October 2, 2007 at 8:28 am
What a great weekend it was, the Gators lost and the Mets fell apart. I love it!
Here are some more of my pick I know you guys have been waiting for ha ha ha
NL MVP
Matt Holliday
NL Cy Young
Jake Peavy
NL ROY
Tuliwitski (sp)
NL Manager
Charlie Maunual
AL MVP
ARod
AL Cy Young
Josh Beckett
AL ROY
Pedroia
AL Manager
Joe Torre
Ron
on October 2, 2007 at 8:31 am
I agree with pretty much all of those, Smitty, except I might go Melvin for MOY. I still don’t know how the D-backs got the best record in the NL while being outscored.
Marc Schneider
on October 2, 2007 at 8:39 am
Rivera “blew” the 7th game largely on an error (admittedly his own) and a bloop hit that barely got past the infield. Of course, he also blew a couple of games to the Red Sox in 2004. Overall, though, there is no comparision; anyone would take Rivera over Hoffman in a game you had to win.
I can’t see bringing Glavine back. I hope he retires. It’s not that he is a bad pitcher, but you already have one 40-year old; I know people want to win now, but having a 40year old with a balky shoulder and a 42 year old finesse pitcher who got rocked in his final two starts doesn’t seem like a good recipe.
As for Chuck, I think the reason he had trouble going through the order a third time is that he didn’t have a significant third pitch. That also contributed to his high pitch counts b/c he had nothing to put away hitters when he got two strikes so they were able to keep fouling away pitches and running up the pitch counts. So, by the fifth, he had already thrown 100 pitches. The change can be a good strikeout pitch but you need something else to keep the hitter off balance.
bledsoe
on October 2, 2007 at 8:44 am
Well deserved. Well done.
Hate King
on October 2, 2007 at 8:49 am
Congratulations on the Best of Atlanta recognition, Mac.
Dan
on October 2, 2007 at 9:01 am
Notes: Glavine probably has pitched last game as a Met
Tom Glavine’s return to the Mets already looked doubtful as Sunday’s first-inning meltdown – in which he allowed seven runs and got only one out against the Marlins – continued toward its dismal conclusion. Then he was booed off the mound at Shea Stadium. Now, if Glavine chooses not to retire, it seems likely he will opt to sign with his hometown Braves instead.
I have to admit I’m cooling on bringing back Glavine too. Looking at his monthly splits, he was pretty awful most months of this season. It might not be the worst idea to go with
Smoltz
Hudson
James
Reyes
Hampton
to start the year then trade for a starter at the deadline if that isn’t getting the job done. (Braves era this year btw was 4.11 which was 3rd in the league.)
Kevin Lee
on October 2, 2007 at 9:09 am
Mac;
You are the standard. All others are pretenders.
Watched a bit of the Wild Card game.I think Skip Carey deserved a chance to work these games.
Instead, my spouse insisted we break away to see “Two and a Half Men.” Only metioned because at one point CBS showed 8 minutes of commercials back to back. Others on this site (Alex R., in particular)have ranted about poor television practices during sports that were as odious as this.
It’s truly went from “televised sporting events” to “sports performed for televison.”
Now I ‘ll go take a nap so I can stay up to see my daughter’s Cubs, who start at 10 pm on the East Coast.
bwarrend
on October 2, 2007 at 10:31 am
I wouldn’t go for Manuel as MOY. The Phils didn’t win the division as much as the Mets won it. I wouldn’t be too proud of winning the division with 89 wins.
The guy that deserves it? Clint Hurdle. The Rockies have the 2nd best record in the majors since the All-Star Break, and did what it took to make the playoffs. They were 4.5 games down with 9 to play and got it done. They have over achieved all year. The run they had the last two weeks may just get it for him.
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
Nice, Mac.
Which poster here works for Creative Loafing?
Hey, that’s really nice.
More drama in MetLand: GM Minaya won’t say that Randolph is definitely back at manager. He’s apparently “talking with ownership” about it.
On the Chuck James argument, I may be misremembering, but I’m not sure I agree that James gets gassed by the 6th inning because it’s the 3rd time around and the opposing team has figured him out.
Doesn’t he often take his time running through the order the first couple times? He strikes me as a guy who always makes you nervous, pitches with people on base, works up his inning-by-inning pitch counts. If he could pitch a little more efficiently — you know, the opposite of Kim Jong-Il — he might have more in the tank by the end.
That is, I think he’s done in the 6th inning because he’s exhausted and loses command, not because he doesn’t have enough stuff.
But I’m no Carlos Gomez. Just my 2 cents.
Oh, so I guess no MVP award for the “Most Exciting Player in Baseball” *puke*
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2007/10/01/2007-10-01_jose_reyes_hitless_in_mets_season_finale.html
———
After Jose Reyes popped out for the fourth time in six innings and his average for The Homestand That Did In The Season fell to .161, the crowd blasted him with boos. Three innings later, they reprised the sentiment, when his 0-for-5 was complete, and his average for the week had shrunk to .156 (5-for-32).
———-
Go (home) Muts!
And he’s catching hell now.
Ol’ Chipper can back his way into the batting title with an 0-4 night from Holliday, right? (as the Braves postseason chances were, highly unlikely) It will be a matter of few one-hundreds of a point, but I think the math is in favor of Chipper. Go Peavy!!
Holliday must go 0 for 5 for Chipper to take the title.
Chipper finished at .3372
0/4 puts Holliday at .3375
0/5 puts Holliday at .3370
What makes it tough, is that Holliday has 630 AB. Tough to dent that average too much now.
Well, there’s a BB for Holliday, so he can’t go 0/5 unless we see extra frames.
Well, like we all know, it’s a HUGE longshot. So we can safely drop it. I think he’ll get at least one hit today anyway.
Congrats on the Best of Atlanta mention, Mac. 🙂
Coors Field beat Chipper Jones by fractions of a fraction. We all know who deserves that title. Minus the freak hand injury month, Chipper has had a stellar year and shows a passion for the game that Andruw (and apparently Jose Reyes) has been lacking as of late.
Speaking of passion, I’m watching this SD/Col game with very little.
On one hand, I’d like to see Greg Maddux get a couple more post-season starts; on the other, I wouldn’t mind seeing a Phils-Rocks series (crazy lineups, insane ballparks).
So I guess I kinda don’t care.
If the SD-COL game ends up tied after nine, I vote they end it right there and declare the teams perfectly even. Then they take the best 25 guys from both teams and call them the Rockres and become the team to beat in the NL. Home games could be in Colorado the first round, San Diego the second, and they could flip a coin for the World Series.
I’m sensing this could work.
Heh. Well, it IS tied after nine.
Holliday is 1/5 and has a good chance of coming up again. This is possible.
What a battle between SD and Col.
Anybody run the numbers on Holliday and Chipper? Even with extras I think it is still a longshot for Chipper b/c Holliday does have one hit tonight.
I think Holliday has it. He has to go 1-8 at this point for Chipper to win.
Keep playin’!
Padres up 8-6. Now for Chipper to win the batting title, the Rockies have to tie it and Holliday to fail in the process. Unlikely. ;P
But with Jorge Julio giving it up, the Mets choke factor has come into play. Even ex-Mets are gagging it up these days.
Ah. I was under the impression Holliday had to go anything worse than 1/5 for Chipper to win. Oh well.
8-7. Step up and then choke just enough, Hoffman!
Screw it. Holliday just hit a triple. Oh well.
wow what a game–Holliday has definitely locked up the batting title
slow safe call from the ump–wondered if Holliday might have missed the plate
Yikes. Holliday hurt himself while scoring the winning run.
YIKES! He missed the plate completely!
awful call to end a game eh?
where can I get a suit like Sagar’s?
Giles sort of airmailed his throw home.
hard ot believe the Pads didn’t argue the call–guess they’d seem like sore losers
Yup, Holliday missed the plate. Bad call. Sucks to end it that way.
But how quickly did Hoffman give that game back? Double, double, triple, IBB, ballgame.
Hoffman somehow turned into a combination of Dan Kolb and Chris Rietsma.
So does this mean that Hoffman is the next Lee Smith?
I don’t know what it means for Trevor Hoffman’s legacy, but can people please stop saying that he’s better than Mariano Rivera?
I never thought he was better than him. The change-up alone makes that a certainty.
I’ve heard the talk & it’s silly.
Just glancing at Rivera’s body of post-season work should make anybody regret ever bringing it up.
And Hoffman didn’t help his case tonight. I know that park is tough, but he got rocked.
When Hoffman blows a one run lead in the bottom of the ninth in game seven of the World Series, get back to me.
Allowing 3 runs to lose an elimination game isn’t too terribly different than game 7 of the world series…
What a most unlikely NL playoff… No Braves, Mets, Padres, Dodgers? The NL sucks.
Wasn’t it about a month ago that the Mets swept the Braves?…how the mighty have fallen….The NL is as weak as it as been in my lifetime and yet the Cardinals won in 2006.
There is good story in the NYT on the Mets’ demise:
I can’t say that I am happy to see Jimmy Rollins vindicated; most important (and most awful), the Mets experienced a historic collapse that Braves could not take advantage….
From one of the few to be around these parts nearly since the beginning last decade: Congrats on the write-up Mac!
What a great weekend it was, the Gators lost and the Mets fell apart. I love it!
Here are some more of my pick I know you guys have been waiting for ha ha ha
NL MVP
Matt Holliday
NL Cy Young
Jake Peavy
NL ROY
Tuliwitski (sp)
NL Manager
Charlie Maunual
AL MVP
ARod
AL Cy Young
Josh Beckett
AL ROY
Pedroia
AL Manager
Joe Torre
I agree with pretty much all of those, Smitty, except I might go Melvin for MOY. I still don’t know how the D-backs got the best record in the NL while being outscored.
Rivera “blew” the 7th game largely on an error (admittedly his own) and a bloop hit that barely got past the infield. Of course, he also blew a couple of games to the Red Sox in 2004. Overall, though, there is no comparision; anyone would take Rivera over Hoffman in a game you had to win.
I can’t see bringing Glavine back. I hope he retires. It’s not that he is a bad pitcher, but you already have one 40-year old; I know people want to win now, but having a 40year old with a balky shoulder and a 42 year old finesse pitcher who got rocked in his final two starts doesn’t seem like a good recipe.
As for Chuck, I think the reason he had trouble going through the order a third time is that he didn’t have a significant third pitch. That also contributed to his high pitch counts b/c he had nothing to put away hitters when he got two strikes so they were able to keep fouling away pitches and running up the pitch counts. So, by the fifth, he had already thrown 100 pitches. The change can be a good strikeout pitch but you need something else to keep the hitter off balance.
Well deserved. Well done.
Congratulations on the Best of Atlanta recognition, Mac.
Notes: Glavine probably has pitched last game as a Met
Tom Glavine’s return to the Mets already looked doubtful as Sunday’s first-inning meltdown – in which he allowed seven runs and got only one out against the Marlins – continued toward its dismal conclusion. Then he was booed off the mound at Shea Stadium. Now, if Glavine chooses not to retire, it seems likely he will opt to sign with his hometown Braves instead.
http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/ny-spmnotes025399075oct02,0,23120.story
I have to admit I’m cooling on bringing back Glavine too. Looking at his monthly splits, he was pretty awful most months of this season. It might not be the worst idea to go with
Smoltz
Hudson
James
Reyes
Hampton
to start the year then trade for a starter at the deadline if that isn’t getting the job done. (Braves era this year btw was 4.11 which was 3rd in the league.)
Mac;
You are the standard. All others are pretenders.
Watched a bit of the Wild Card game.I think Skip Carey deserved a chance to work these games.
Instead, my spouse insisted we break away to see “Two and a Half Men.” Only metioned because at one point CBS showed 8 minutes of commercials back to back. Others on this site (Alex R., in particular)have ranted about poor television practices during sports that were as odious as this.
It’s truly went from “televised sporting events” to “sports performed for televison.”
Now I ‘ll go take a nap so I can stay up to see my daughter’s Cubs, who start at 10 pm on the East Coast.
I wouldn’t go for Manuel as MOY. The Phils didn’t win the division as much as the Mets won it. I wouldn’t be too proud of winning the division with 89 wins.
The guy that deserves it? Clint Hurdle. The Rockies have the 2nd best record in the majors since the All-Star Break, and did what it took to make the playoffs. They were 4.5 games down with 9 to play and got it done. They have over achieved all year. The run they had the last two weeks may just get it for him.