MLB 2014 season thread

Jeremy Giambi was long gone by then. He was traded to the Phillies in 2002.

Mark Ellis was the leadoff man in 2003.

What killed the A's that year was Tim Hudson straining his oblique in the first inning of Game 4 after Oakland had taken a 2-1 lead in the series.

 

Beg pardon.
Still an oddly built team.
I said two weeks ago the A's traded balance for Lester/Samardzija.
They put their chips in the middle and lost. The house always wins- Beane knows that. Just like life.
The future cost is meaningless. Russell is a Double A prospect

 

I'm sorry Steak, but the A's should have put it away in the third game. Ted Lilly pitched the game of his life, and was betrayed by tee ball baserunning.

 

I was thinking about this last night. They really should treat it as a 163rd regular-season game and allow the post-Sept. 1 40-man rosters. But then, technically, they couldn't sell it as the "post-season." It still works out similarly because there is absolutely no reason to have five starters on the 25-man roster for a one-game series, so teams should be able to get by with as few as eight (but probably won't keep fewer than 10) pitchers and 15-17 position players. It's the playoffs, but there's no reason for a team to have a "normal" 25-man roster.

 

Yeah, but Hudson's injury didn't help because it wore out the bullpen. Future Red Sox closer Keith Foulke blew a one-run lead in the eighth, which meant they had to beat Pedro in Game 5. Wasn't happening.

 

Wish I could help you out but I was more focused on football that day and it didn't occur to me to listen in. It will really be weird, though, to not have the Cubs on ole 720 any more.

 

Although he and the A's hotly denied it, there were reports that Hudson got hurt not during the first inning but in a bar fight the previous night.

 

Xan, I pay tribute to you, inasmuch as I believe one's bottom sig should be used for greatness rather than mediocrity.

 

Lineups for tonight here, along with each hitter's stats against the other team's starting pitcher.

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/giants/2014/10/01/wednesdays-wild-card-game-lineups-will-ownage-ownage/

Pirates don't have huge history against Bumgarner -- Harrison is 4 for 5 with a home run, and a few guys have gotten some hits, but nobody has faced him more than nine ABs.

Giants' top of order is pretty strong against Volquez: Blanco .364 OBP, (Panik hasn't faced him), Posey 5 for 9 with 2 walks, Sandoval 6 for 13, Pence 7 for 36 but with 3 HRs, Belt 8 for 18.

 

Based on defensive metrics that even the most devoted stathead will admit are flawed and unreliable. So bullshit.

 

What data would you use to judge the efficacy of a fielder?

 

The proof test.

It's a logical argument on how defense can help or hurt your ERA.