Crack of the Bat, Y'all: A Thread for Baseball

[El_Josharino]

In tonight's "Would you rather..." query, I present the following:

Would you rather play a carom off of the Green Monster, or helplessly throw your arms up after chasing a ball into the ivy at Wrigley Field?

Should you choose the Wrigley scenario, how would your answer change if after playing the carom in Fenway you were to gun down the batsman at 3rd trying to stretch out his double?

I'd totally play the bounce off the Monster, but in my baseball days I never quite developed the arm power for outfield, so the possibility of gunning down the batter at 3rd might hang on said batter being David Ortiz or someone of similar foot speed.

The beauty of these hypotheticals, though, is that within them you have Jeff Franceour's throwing arm (but don't worry, you don't have to take his plate discipline also).
That said, I think I'd take the ivy one... I dunno why, exactly. Maybe subconsciously I know it's better because in case there is a runner on 1st ends up at 3rd whereas in the other situation probably he ends up scoring. HOWEVER, if I were to rifle a throw to third to get the runner in the Fenway situation, then I'd take that one for sure, because goddamn, it sure is fun to do that.

[El_Josharino]

Ha. Any Mets misfortune is a treat for me, so I enjoyed this video of Terry Collins being angry about having a lousy team:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcLSSuoLofE&feature=player_embedded

I especially like where he says he wants his players to be more like Andrew McCutchen. Ah, but who doesn't?

[Thermofusion]

Oh that is glorious. Also McCutchen had a ridiculous sliding catch in that game. Dude is a G.

[Thermofusion]

Love those Buccos! Huge win for Morton & the gang tonight, in front of the largest crowd in PNC Park history.

[El_Josharino]

Man, I know I have to root against Jose Reyes being a Met and all, but man, he's sure fun to watch play.

[El_Josharino]

Every other aspect of this game, however...

[Thermofusion]

How did Dickey look?

Also, draft day. Rendon vs. Cole.

[RavingLunatic]

Is there anybody out there who's not cheering for R.A. Dickey? I mean, how great is that story? He's a big-time prospect until they find out he has no ulnar collateral ligament, at which time the Rangers withdraw the monster signing bonus he was set to haul in, and everyone completely writes off his career. Dude persists and years later makes it to the bigs but struggles and is sent down, seemingly for good. Reinvents himself as a knuckleballer and is now perhaps the best starting pitcher on the Mets. The Baseball Project need to make a song about this guy.

[Thermofusion]

I'm a big fan of Dickey and Wakefield. Basically, if you throw a knuckler, I like you.

[El_Josharino]

Yeah, Dickey was solid last night, threw 8 innings, the only trouble he had was with McCann who was 2-4 with a solo homer.
And to top off his story, he's currently pitching with a case of planar fasciitis in his foot, and despite that he can barely walk, he's been dominant in his 2 starts since being diagnosed. Shit is nuts.

[El_Josharino]

Also, draft day. Rendon vs. Cole.

Everyone seems to think it'll be Cole. I'm no prospect maven, but based on what I've read they maybe should give some real consideration to some of Cole's rotationmates, thanks to Cole's control issues and Rendon's injury history...

[Thermofusion]

Yeah, Dickey was solid last night, threw 8 innings, the only trouble he had was with McCann who was 2-4 with a solo homer.
And to top off his story, he's currently pitching with a case of planar fasciitis in his foot, and despite that he can barely walk, he's been dominant in his 2 starts since being diagnosed. Shit is nuts.

Wish I'd caught the game. I think Dickey is more interesting to watch than Wakefield. Wakefield's more consistent and has a prettier knuckleball, but Dickey has a couple other pitches he mixes in and the movement of his knucklers seems a lot more unpredictable (blessing and a curse, I'm sure)

Re: the draft, I see that it's basically been officially outed that they're taking Cole. With him, CharMo and Jameson Taillon we could have a nasty rotation in a few years. Wonder how far he's off from the bigs? Because usually I've completely forgotten who the hell these people are by the time they get called up.

[davy]

HOLY COW I just read that Dan Uggla has ...

THE WORST BATTING AVERAGE IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES

among qualified batters.

@$*#%&!@#%!

[Thermofusion]

Ouch. That's not counting pitchers is it?

edit: .172? holy shizz

[davy]

But I mean, look on the bright side: he only cost 62 million dollars.

[Thermofusion]

Good God.

Also I see McLouth was hitting .238 before tweaking his oblique and going to FL for rehab. Holy yikes. Man and to think I was furious when we traded him.

[davy]

And to tell you the truth, we were all pretty happy with that after last season.

I'm even happier with Schaeffer's performance so far, though. I've always liked that kid and I've been hoping he'd get another shot in the Bigs.

[Thermofusion]

Every time I look at the Braves' roster, it occurs to me that y'all would be nearly unstoppable if you got all your bats working at the same time. So much offensive potential in that batting lineup. McCann and Freeman are Gs.

[El_Josharino]

It seems like lately I've seen a few folks on blogs and such when talking about what-ifs saying what if the Braves make a play to get Pence from Houston to play center. If that happens... oh man...

[El_Josharino]

Because usually I've completely forgotten who the hell these people are by the time they get called up.

Yeah, this is basically how it goes for me. I never really paid any attention to the baseball draft before some cursory glances last year. I recognize the "big" names, Strasburg, Harper, etc. Starling this year, because if he doesn't sign with Kansas City, he'll be a QB for the Huskers. Aside from that I've sort of kept up with the Braves' first pick from last year (shortstop Matt Lipka), but that's only really because Braves blog Talking Chop does a really nice minor league recap of the Braves' affiliates every morning.

[El_Josharino]

(Side note: add Bubba Starling to the list of solid baseball names.)

[Thermofusion]

(Side note: add Bubba Starling to the list of solid baseball names.)

Surefire hall of famer.

[Thermofusion]

via Big League Stew:



that's fucked up!

[Ignatius]

My brother once got hit by a Tim Raines foul ball. It didn't make me feel good. That screengrab looks fake as hell though, on account of how that kid in the second row is twice the size of anyone in the first. As are the legs of the folks in the 3rd row...

[El_Josharino]

Cripes. Thank goodness the Braves' pitching is phenomenal...