2012 MLB Regular Season Running Thread

Reds minor-league shortstop Billy Hamilton stole four bases at Double-A Pensacola last night, setting the single season record with 147. He broke Vince Coleman's record of 145 set in 1983.

http://espn.go.com/minor-league-baseball/story/_/id/8291219/billy-hamilton-cincinnati-reds-prospect-steals-record-146th-base

The Seattle Mariners leads the majors this season with 121 steals as a team.

 

Can't say I'm shocked at this one.

 

He's 10-9 with an ERA around 3.50

What kind of performance did these drugs enhance?

 

The A's have a 3.50 team ERA, which is second in the American League. A 3.50 ERA, particularly from a 39-year-old who hasn't thrown 200 innings since 2005, is very good. And it's a large reason the A's are competing for a wildcard spot. Colon won the Cy Young Award seven years ago with a 3.48 ERA. Now, he probably didn't deserve the award. But the fact that the voters gave it to him shows that an ERA around 3.50 is nothing to sneeze at. (Colon's actual ERA right now: 3.43.) And, combined with other factors like a lot of innings pitched and/or complete games, could even be considered elite.

This suspension puts a serious crimp in the A's playoff chances.

 

Hall of Famers with a career ERA over 3.50:

Dennis Eckersley
Burleigh Grimes
Early Wynn
Waite Hoyte
Herb Pennock
Jesse Haines
Ted Lyons
Red Ruffing

 

Yeah, a 3.50 ERA is pretty good from anyone, let alone a pitcher you grabbed off the bargain rack. (Granted, he would have been the beach ball in the bargain rack, but still.)

A's are going to have a tough time making it to the finish line, with 20 of their final 23 games against other teams in the thick of it (Yankees, O's, Tigers, Angels, Rangers).

 

A performance that is much better than most people expected from him.

This is why so many of the steroid accusations that get tossed around here drive me insane. So much of it is based on the way a guy is built. Too often it is tossed out there simply because a player is really good. But there are fat guys and skinny little guys who have been busted for steroids. There are some crappy players who have been busted, too.

F.P. Santangelo was never a true full-time player and he finished his career with a .245 batting average and 21 home runs. Yet, he admitted to using HGH after he was named in the Mitchell Report. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3155299

That's why I argue so doggedly with people who have nothing more than a player's appearance or production to base the accusations on. It's even why I play devil's advocate in cases like Ryan Braun's. The standards for making these accusations are way too low around here and elsewhere. It's fair in Braun's case, even though the sample was mishandled and his suspension overturned, but what about Hall of Fame voters leaving Jeff Bagwell out because they think he did it? Or A_QB accusing pretty much anybody who was ever any good while playing for Tony LaRussa just because LaRussa had managed some guys who cheated in the past? Sorry, but that's crap.

 

Captain Update: He is now batting .324 and is on pace for 221 hits (the hits would be a career high).

He is only 12 points behind Trout for the AL batting title.

 

Did the Colon suspension remind you to post about Jeter's surge?

Would be interesting if both the N.L. and A.L. batting champions were handed 50-game suspensions in the same season.

 

Maybe I read that wrong; it sounded like you implied Jeter's resurgence is PED-fueled. You might want to edit/delete that post because I'm sure that's not what you meant.

 

LOL

 

Manky, your update for today HAS to be that he is exactly 1,000 hits shy of Pete Rose.