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MLB Regular Season 2011

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by Jonah Keri:

Don't Drop Your Guard Around Alex Anthopoulos …

… he'll pick your pocket if you do. The Toronto Blue Jays' general manager continued his streak of jaw-dropping deals, pulling off a trade for 24-year-old Colby Rasmus that might involve more than a dozen players when all is said and done.

Rumors had swirled that the St. Louis Cardinals were fed up with Rasmus (and vice versa). Subsequent rumors suggested the Chicago White Sox might acquire Rasmus for a package headed by Edwin Jackson. What did Anthopoulos do? He nabbed Jackson (along with expensive throw-in Mark Teahen) for solid relief pitcher Jason Frasor and Zach Stewart, a fringe starting pitching prospect who might end up in the bullpen himself. Then he turned around and shipped Jackson, fringe starter Marc Rzepczynski, Octavio Dotel and Corey Patterson, and either three players to be named later or cash, for Rasmus and three crappy to quasi-useful bullpen arms (Trever Miller, Brian Tallet and P.J. Walters).

Anthopoulos & Co. are working on rebuilding a farm system stunted by years of lousy drafts. To do that, they need to take chances. Sometimes big chances, sometimes on players with dickish reputations. They made a deal with the Atlanta Braves last year that included several parts, but boiled down to trading Alex Gonzalez for Yunel Escobar — a superior player nearly six years younger. Anthopoulos gambled on the young, cheap shortstop, though some contended he was a giant pain in Atlanta. The risk paid off. Escobar's been phenomenal this year, hitting .310/.389/.447 and playing slightly-above-average defense. Anthopoulos made a good situation better by locking up his star shortstop at a discount rate of two years, $10 million (plus two cheap club options).

Rasmus is Escobar, except four years younger, more talented, and with an annoying stage dad. By all accounts, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa had grown tired of Rasmus and his vocal, meddling father. Did Rasmus play poorly because La Russa is a my-way-or-the-highway guy, or did Rasmus's poor play piss off his very successful manager? Probably a little of both. La Russa has been right in the past on players he wasn’t fond of, and he might be right again this time. Jackson is a great snag for the contending Cards, enjoying the best season of his career with a 3.21 FIP. Jackson and Dotel could return a couple compensation picks at year's end, and the Jays might end up giving up some real value in those players to be named later.

But Toronto gets the real upside here. Rasmus is talented enough and young enough to make future stardom a real possibility. The trade is already a big win for Anthopoulos based solely on how little he gave up and how much he stands to gain.

Remember that this is the same guy who got an All-Star-quality shortstop cheap and signed him cheaper. He dumped $81 million of washed-up Vernon Wells, then signed the best hitter on the planet for one more year at $16 million less. Anthopoulos signed a bunch of random relievers for nothing, then parlayed them into one of the most desirable commodities on the trade market. We might have to rewrite the story of the Toronto Blue Jays. Chapter 1 will tell the tale of the GM who scares the bejeezus out of every other team in baseball.
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http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/840/a-giant-day
 
Oh yeah, massive game. That late in the year, the two best teams in the game.

They are famous for having the longest games in the Major Leagues though, because so many of their hitters exhibit a lot of patience at the plate (taking a lot of pitches to wear down the pitcher) and because some of them take about 45 seconds to get themselves together between pitches.
 
[quote author=Rosco link=topic=44304.msg1373975#msg1373975 date=1312352654]
Oh yeah, massive game. That late in the year, the two best teams in the game.

They are famous for having the longest games in the Major Leagues though, because so many of their hitters exhibit a lot of patience at the plate (taking a lot of pitches to wear down the pitcher) and because some of them take about 45 seconds to get themselves together between pitches.
[/quote]

Oh, ok. Cheers for the background.

There's some tribute to some 'great' beforehand too so tickets were a nightmare to get. And expensive.
 
Rangers have a brutual stretch to end the season and are doing very well so far ... 3.5 games ahead of the angels so far (they have the game in hand). I think, we Beltre back, we can cause problems in the post season again for the BoSox and Skankees (if we hold on that is!) ...
 
The Sox usually run scared of the Rangers.

It'll be interesting if you make it. The Angels aren't that far behind.
 
Verlander is amazing, but you're a .500 team without him. That ain't going to cut it in the playoffs, not in the AL.
 
Should Verlander be in the MVP discussion? Normally I wouldnt give pitchers that, but without him the Tigers go from top to a .500 team.
 
He probably should but there are too many worthy position players for him to really win it - Ellsbury, Pedroia, Granderson, Bautista for starters
 
[quote author=Ryan link=topic=44304.msg1373449#msg1373449 date=1312257328]
Just got tickets to the Yankees-Red Sox game at Yankee Stadium on Sept 23rd!
[/quote]

It better stop fucking raining here.
 
Lester v. Garcia. not bad at all.

Yankees just clinched the division but you can be sure they'll still be out to beat the Red Sox
 
They really will do whatever it takes to win in this epic rivalry.

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman admitted Thursday that he feigned interest in Carl Crawford last offseason to drive up the price for the Boston Red Sox to sign the free agent.
"I actually had dinner with the agent to pretend that we were actually involved and drive the price up," Cashman said. "The outfield wasn't an area of need, but everybody kept writing Crawford, Crawford, Crawford, Crawford. And I was like, 'I feel like we've got Carl Crawford in Brett Gardner, except he costs more than $100 million less, with less experience.' "
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The Red Sox are having a historically bad September. They've got a 1 game lead, 3 left to play. And they are limping into the playoffs. They have the best offense in the game right now, but their pitching has been awful.

Even if they make the playoffs I can't see them beating Detroit or Texas right now.
 
[quote author=Rosco link=topic=44304.msg1405044#msg1405044 date=1317014938]
The Red Sox are having a historically bad September. They've got a 1 game lead, 3 left to play. And they are limping into the playoffs. They have the best offense in the game right now, but their pitching has been awful.

Even if they make the playoffs I can't see them beating Detroit or Texas right now.
[/quote]

Neither can I. Nether can ANYONE.

The Texas fans are praying that they get Boston on Friday night. I don't blame them.

And yet, in the back of my mind, I can't help but feel that last night's late innings dramatics might have being the start of a heroic final chapter to this ridiculous season. Who knows?
 
The yanks - sox game was a blast. I know fuck all about baseball but that Teixeira is my favorite baseballer now.
 
So, all of this happened on Tuesday in two games in the American League, where all that’s at stake is a playoff spot, one team trying to avoid a colossal collapse, the other team trying to prove that small-market franchises can slay the wealthy dragon, maybe an MVP award, and the pain and suffering of an entire Nation:
A triple play. It may end up as the most important triple play in major league history.
A rookie catcher, in the biggest game of the season, making his first career start behind the plate in the majors.
That catcher -- Boston's Ryan Lavarnway, only the third Yale player drafted since 1965 to reach the big leagues -- throwing out a baserunner trying to steal third base and then hitting a three-run home run, the first of his career. And then hitting his second career home run.
An intentional walk … to bring Alex Rodriguez to the plate.
The Red Sox hitting a guy cleanup who has never started in the cleanup position before.
Nick Swisher doubling off the center-field wall, but Mark Teixeira not scoring from second base on the play.
Jacoby Ellsbury showing why he may be the AL’s Most Valuable Player with another clutch home run.
Adam Jones, fouling off pitch after pitch from Jonathan Papelbon with the tying run at second base in the bottom of the ninth, Orioles fans standing like they had a playoff berth on the line.
Matt Joyce, Matt Joyce, Matt Joyce. You made Tampa Bay fans very happy.

All that plus a thousand other little pieces of joy.

Where do you start? You start with the triple play, of course. But turn back the clock to the previous at-bat. With runners at second and third and the Yankees up 3-2, Swisher lofted a high fly to left-center. Teixeira, thinking the ball may be caught, looked to tag up from second, so when the ball instead bounced off the fence, he was unable to score. As they say, it’s the little things. (How often do guys try to tag up on a play like that, anyway? Not often, it seems.) Jorge Posada was intentionally walked to load the bases.

And then came the play that Rays fans will put in their back pocket and pull out for decades to come if Tampa ends up making the postseason: Russell Martin up. Hard grounder to Evan Longoria. Step on the bag. Over to Ben Zobrist. Lightning quick on the turn. The throw to first baseman Sean Rodriguez beats Martin despite his head-first slide.

Longoria to Zobrist to Rodriguez, definitely the sweetest of words in Tampa Bay.

The game wasn’t over. Joyce provided the big hit, a three-run shot off the Yankees’ $10 million middle reliever, Rafael Soriano. Is there a better sound in sports than the buzz of a baseball crowd -- the low hum of fans talking and vendors selling -- suddenly turning into a gigantic roar when something good happens? Love that sound.

In Baltimore, the hero was a rookie catcher named Ryan Lavarnway. With Jarrod Saltalamacchia fighting a sore collarbone and Jason Varitek battling a sore knee, Terry Francona gave the kid his first start behind the plate. Lavarnway’s three-run homer in the fourth gave the Red Sox a 5-1 lead. He’d homer again in the eighth. Francona showed no fear. He also batted Jed Lowrie cleanup for the first time his career.

A triple play. A rookie from Yale. The biggest games of the season.

We’re down to No. 162. Forget everything that has happened over the previous 161. None of that matters now. It’s one game to stay alive, to create legacies or avoid one. David Price will start for Tampa. Jon Lester will start for Boston.

And I have absolutely no idea what will happen
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Down to the wire now.
 
Yankees putting out Betances to start tonight.

He's 0-3 with 5.14 ERA in AAA this year. Take that Red Sox !
 
Fucking hell what drama!

Yankees leading TB 7-6 in the ninth, TB scored 6 runs in the bottom eighth. TB have the bottom of the ninth to try to score 2 runs. Think the Yankees will give it them? 😉

Red Sox leading Orioles 3-2 going into the eighth but play has been delayed!

Incredible!!!
 
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