Baseball Thread Rated X -- Mature Audiences Only

Surprise, surprise -- Ken Griffey Jr.'s season isn't over yet.

http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/gamecenter/recap/MLB_20060925_CHC@CIN

And, just on the (doubtful) off chance this was his last home at bat as Red, he at least went out on a bang.

A 4-2 road trip and the Reds at least finish .500. Not great, but considering the expectations, it will be considered a success.

 

Sure. If the pinch-hitter has to face three (at least) different pitchers in the ninth inning, sure.

I agree with you re: the overreliance on closers and the cheapness of the save stat. But to lump Rivera in with the rest of the three-run, one-inning bums is completely insane.

(At this rate, since we've already commenced with the fuck yous and such, you and I will be talking Foreigner and making jokes about one-armed drummers in no time flat)

 

Foreigner.. saw them in concert.

But not Def Leppard.

 

I think most people can agree on the fact that the "save" stat is relatively overrated. It's too bad that the career numbers of guys like Gossage, Sutter, Fingers, et al, are routinely overlooked because they played in a different era.

While I love the way a dominant closer like Rivera and Hoffman can impact the game from the sixth inning on simply because of his possible presence -- yet another case for those two being in Cooperstown -- I would love to see a retro change in the way "closers" are used.

I think managers should use their best reliever -- their "stopper" -- whenever the most crucial point in the game occurs. Bring a guy like Mariano in for the seventh inning, not the ninth, if there's a couple runners on and the big boppers are up. Give him the save for that -- make it like a "man of the match"-type stat. That would be FUN.

It's not going to happen, but still.

That said, you can't penalize Rivera and Hoffman for playing in the era they play in. It's not their fault that the game is played this way -- they play within the context of their era, and are dominant within that context. That's a Hall of Famer. ... You can't say that they "should" have been able to do what Sutter and Gossage did, routine 2-3 inning saves, because that's not the way the game is played now. You can't deny their case for Cooperstown because of that or because the stat itself is "weak" any more than you can dispute Ruth's dominance because Babe didn't play against black players. It's not HIS fault -- he played the game in the era he played it, and you can only hypothesize and have fun arguing what they would have done in a different era.

In their era, in their context, Rivera and Hoffman have been truly dominanting and exceptional performers. That's a Hall of Famer in my book.

 

Wow, could the Cardinals possibly pull the biggest choke of all-time and let the Astros catch them? Houston could cut it to 2½ tonite.

 

That would be awesome.

 

I'll echo Columbo.

Though it would mean at least one more time we have to put up with the potential farewell start for Roger Clemens if he decides to retire/is finally busted by baseball for rampant roid usage/is hit by a train hype.

 

I would laugh a lot if the Reds, after getting their asses handed to them by the Cubs a week ago in Wrigley, came back and won the division.

 

I'll merely laugh if the Reds finish 81-81. That way, I can be on here when the Mets lose in the NLDS.

 

Cards are trailing ... Astros are leading ... knock on wood, I like this.

 

Death.
Taxes.
Phillies choking when there's something to play for.

/bitter phanboy

 

Why wouldn't you be on here? We all know your betting partner believes in welching on bets.