Running 2011 Baseball Thread, Vol. I: Dedicated to spnited

How about Feliz? He got himself into the jam and then with a chance to put the championship away, he couldn't make a decent pitch to Freese.

 

That's a lot of gambling to be doing with (probably) $100M+ though, especially when the track record with larger 1B isn't great. The bigger you are, the more injury prone you tend to be, especially as you get older. Guys like Thome and Frank Thomas are the exception, whereas Mo Vaughn, Boog Powell and (currently) Ryan Howard are more the norm.

I still think Fielder gets paid, but I'd rather pay the premium on Pujols, just because it wouldn't surprise me if he continues to defy history (and normal healing patterns) and stays productive longer, despite the four-year difference in ages.

 

There's at least some evidence that hitters of Pujols' caliber don't follow the same aging patterns as most ballplayers.

Unfortunately for whoever signs him, 2011 was counterevidence.

 

Not really. Thome and Thomas lasted forever, but both had plenty of injuries later in their careers (bad back for Thome, bad feet for Thomas).

 

True, but I feel like both lasted longer than the typical hulking slugger, who can vanish in an instant. This year, that guy might have been Adam Dunn, although he's going to get another 250 to 500 AB to prove he isn't completely cooked.

 

Man, five years without a World Series title. Man, glad that long drought is over.

 

It's not, and Tennace is definitely not. I just don't think the Cardinals, or the Giants for that matter, should be thought of as "lesser" champions since they didn't meet whoever's criteria as "the best team." It's like those arguments we'd hear from Phillies fans or Manky wanting different criteria for their teams.

 

I can't figure this out, nor can I figure out all the hate for the Cardinals as an organization. Is it LaRussa? Or is it just jealousy? For the record, I've been a Cardinal fan all my life and can't stand LaRussa.

 

If this were debate team, I'd use examples like this to support my argument:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/St-Louis-High-Chris-Carpenter-lectures-Brendan?urn=mlb-261426

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/dailypitch/post/2010/04/larussa-and-carpenter-steamed-at-d-backs-/1

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/10/25/chris-carpenter-seems-to-have-forgotten-one-of-those-unwritten-rules-he-cares-so-much-about/

As Gleeman writes, for someone who's so concerned with unwritten rules about "showing up" other players, he sure breaks a lot of them himself:

 

I for one will always remember Cruz's misplay and it evens things out for all the home runs he had to get them to that point. But we're politically correct now. We don't "Buckner" a player.

 

Oh yeah? Just watch.

The world is a far crueler place now than 25 years ago, especially when it comes to the sporting icons out of whom we demand perfection in exchange for their outlandish salaries. Cruz won't put up with the shit Buckner did, b/c Dallas is a more forgiving baseball place, but this will be in the first graph of his obituary.