2012 MLB Regular Season Running Thread

Come on, KY. Is that really what you got from my post?

They shouldn't throw at a batter's head intentionally, which becomes more and more dangerous the harder pitchers throw.

 

Obviously, God hates the Red Sox.

 

Yes. , but you are right, he should be considered. I also have a feeling TheClutch is a Pirate for life. [/touchwood]

 

Granted, I have yet to read the game stories yet, and I went to bed in the 7th, but not for one second did I even get the impression that Strasburg hit Scutaro on purpose. The Nats TV guys, as awful as they are, never mentioned it. No warnings given by the ump. Strasburg looked pretty shaken up. Seemed to complete lose focus from that point. Plus, it would have been a pretty bad spot to try to hit someone, given the leadoff triple in the inning. Pretty sure the HBP put runners at the corners with 0 outs in a one-run game.

And I never sensed any intent on the Espinosa HBPs, either. Someone please correct me if it's been said otherwise.

That said, to take a 95mph heater from Strasburg in the dome and live to tell about it is impressive.

 

Baseball has been wussified for way too long. That's why I say kudos to Strasburg, intentional or not.

For too long, most pitchers have been hesitant to come high and inside for fear that their 95 might actually intersect with a hitter's dome. The hitters, then, were free to dig in like your average weekend hacker in the trap on No. 7, get nice and comfy and lean out over the plate to drive the pitch on the outside black to RF.

Sorry, but that's just not right. Hitters never were meant to be comfortable at the plate. Without the fear of getting hit, the thought of standing in against a guy like Strasburg (or in a prior example, Gibson) wouldn't be anywhere near so impossibly terrifying.

The pitcher not only has the right to come inside, but the obligation to do so. And I'm sorry, but if one of my teammates gets hit twice in the same game, "intentionally" or not, somebody on the other team is getting one and he's getting it good. It's the only way to police the game on the field and prevent opponents from completely taking advantage of you.

Upon further reflection, I highly doubt Strasburg was trying to bean Scutaro. As Sonner pointed out, he seemed genuinely rattled afterward. But I guess now he'll be labeled a "headhunter" like Clemens was. BS.

 

Why would you guess Strasburg will be labeled a headhunter? The only place I've read anything about that pitch possibly being intentional (which it 100% was not) is on here.

It's a good thing you don't get worked up over shit like this, though.

 

There is an important distinction between throwing inside and intentionally throwing at another player's head. The first is something pitchers should do. The second, not so much.

I don't see anybody calling Strasburg a headhunter. I wondered if there was intent, but it sounds like there was not.

 

Of interest to probably nobody but me, Travis Wood -- who is, at best, the 5th starter on the worst team in baseball (by far) and hadn't won a game in a calendar year -- has now beaten Jake Peavy and Johan Santana in back-to-back games, giving up 1 run in 13 innings.

Not that it's going to make a dent in the world, but it's a little glimmer of hope in what has otherwise been a dismal year for the Cubs.

And our long national nightmare is over ... Anthony Rizzo is finally going to play for the Cubs tonight. Yeesh.

You can return to your discussion about beanballs, the Nationals and Jetes.

 

I watched the game.

Strasburg wasn't throwing at him. It got away.

I return you to whatever the hell you're doing on this thread.

 

Exactly. Not even a little bit.

I watched most of the game and came to one conclusion. I really, really need to get out to Denver for a game. Also, it was 101 at first pitch last night; hottest game temp in Rockies history with 4% humidity. So it really wasn't that bad! /annoyingWestCoasters

 

So that's why all the children are home from school.

(Except at Steve Garvey Junior High, where the entire student body and faculty snorts dismissively.)

 

Travis Wood is way better than you're giving him credit for. He's a No. 4 on the Cubs (who have a surprisingly decent rotation), but a No. 3 on some teams. 4.06 career ERA is pretty much dead average.

A 25-year-old pitcher with a league average career ERA? Most teams are dying for guys like that.