Running baseball thread part VIII

So, John Maine sucks, too?

Among his last five starts, he has turned in the folling three clunkers

July 13 CIN 4.2 6H 4ER 3BB 3K
July 18 SD 6.0 IP 7H 4ER 2BB 5K
Aug. 04 CHC 2.2IP 4H 6ER 3BB 1K

Now his other two starts in that stretch were outstanding, but those came against the Pirates and Nationals, two of the worst offensive teams in the game.

How much of the difference between these two is Maine pitching in the National League with a much better team around him and home games in a pitcher's park, while Meche has an extremely erratic team behind him, much tougher lineups to face and home games in one of the best hitters' parks in the AL?

I'd be concerned about both guys right now. And for the 100th time, Meche is insanely overpaid. But throwing out his positives this year to serve the argument, which is "small market teams must be raked over the coals any time they make a mistake on a big-money signing."

Never mind that franchises like KC have to overspend to get free agents to go there and the market was obscene this past offseason.

 

One of those meltdowns came in a game in which the Cubs had a four-run lead entering the ninth ... and Dempster gave up five -- it was a non-save situation, but not a tie game. I noticed Piniella allowed Howry to close out the game Saturday after Dempster got lit up the day before.

Wood has filthy stuff when he comes out of the pen (he did with a sore arm in 2005), but nobody who is associated with the Cubs is expecting anything out of him or Prior, and anything you get now is just gravy.

The RH half of the Cubs' pen is pretty good -- Marmol has a sub-2.00 ERA and is being groomed as the future closer. Howry has been steady. Wood just bolsters that if he's healthy, and even if he's not, its not a huge loss. Dempster can be scary at times, but he is a fairly reliable closer, unless it's a non-save situation or he's facing the Mets. It's the LH part of the pen that seriously needs upgrading -- Will Ohman has a 5.06 ERA and has been the guy who has stifled Cubs comebacks by giving up 2+ runs in his last two outings. Scott Eyre was a master in giving up leads during the first part of the year, but has settled down of late.

 

The Yankees are getting fat off the AL's dregs.
Once they face good pitching (if they make the playoffs) and their crappy middle relief is exposed, it will be another first-round elimination.
I can't see most of their rotation going 7, Farnsworth pitching the eighth, then Rivera in the 9th.
Middle relief was a big reason why the Yankees won 4 titles in a five-year span. They don't have it now.

 

Does anybody know what Tom Glavine's wife or father look like?

 

The question is: Will anyone remember what they look like in a week?

 

It will impress me a lot if the Yankees go up to Toronto and continue their run. The Blue Jays are also hot right now, and have won eight straight at home.

 

All-Star left fielder's quad explodes, knocking him out for a month in the heat of a pennant race.

Top CF prospect is hitting about .350 in AAA and has already been up this year. He's a better outfield defender than any of the slapdicks currently on your ML roster and a better hitter than the clown currently patrolling center field.

Easy choice for a call-up right? Well, not if you're the Cubs. Apparently Felix Pie is staying in Des Moines and, according to Cubs.com, Eric Patterson, a fucking second baseman, is getting the call-up.

What. The. Fuck.

 

I hate this fucking team.

 

So we'll be treated to an outfield of a combination of three of the following on a daily basis:

Jock Jones
Matt Murton
Mark DeRosa
Cliff Floyd
Angel Pagan

You could play all five of these guys in the OF at once and it'd still be the worst defensive outfield in professional baseball.

Unless there's some post-waiver wire deal in the works for an outfielder this makes no sense.

 

Have you seen the Yanks' September sked? It couldn't be easier if they were playing Corky From Life Goes On and Friends 18 times.

 

Why the fuck couldn't Jones blow out HIS quad?

 

A_QB, need a hug?