MLB Thread Number 3, 2007

When a team has two starting pitchers get whacked with line drives in the first inning of games and it's not yet Memorial Day, I think we can safely chalk it up as a Plague Year. Ability has little to do with it. The manager is irrelevant. All cycles are down and there's nothing to do but plan for next year. Cashman could start by planning Pavano and Farnsworth's mysterious disappearances.

 

How strange would it be to hear Jeter say, "Mr. Girardi ..."?

Steinbrenner needs to fight the urge to get rid of Torre. What's happened to the Yankees is simply not his fault. Under him, they've been so good so long that it's easy to think they were immune to ever having a bad year. But everybody -- everybody -- undergoes a rash of injuries at some point. When they happen to pitchers, there's really no amount of managing that can overcome it. Especially in that division. We're not talking about foremen on a ship yard here. Steinbrenner needs to just let his baseball people do as they see fit.

 

My prediction for the game I am going to see...

Let's see how well these turn out


Phillies 7
Blue Jays 4

Eaton 6 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 K
Utley 2 for 4, HR, 2 RBI
Helms 1 for 3, HR, 3 RBI, BB

 

Worst. Prediction. Evar.

 

Is there an ump with a tighter strike zone than Tim Tschida? The left side of the plate was a black hole last night. Horacio Ramirez' pitches had a bit more movement than Maddux's, so he managed to survive, but he walked a tightrope in a couple of innings.
If Tschida had been behind the plate for every Maddux start, he would have been out of baseball several years ago. Likewise Jamie Moyer.

 

Cubs fans: What is the deal with Carlos Zambrano this year?

 

Thanks, by the way.

 

Normally he's a head case with a 3.00 ERA rather than a 5.00 ERA, though.

 

Scott Baker pitched well last night.

This was an important outing for him especially after what happened to him last year.

He has to find a way to step up now or he will probably be pitching for another team. I thought last night was encouraging.

 

Really appears as if George has cut off his head.

 

"No matter what happens here, it's your fault."

 

Weird... watching the Padres-Mariners on mlb.tv... it looks like they are playing a night game.

Is Safeco one of those joints with notoriously awful lighting, like Dolphin Stadium?