Major League Baseball Thread

[monsterfan99]

^They got enough young players to trade for pitching.

[cooksta77]

As a die-hard Angels fan I was in love with Kendry Morales' walk-off Grand Slam, until he jumped into the ring of players and then proceeded to severely fracture his left ankle. So as of 5-29-10 I'm going to fold up the season for my beloved Angels barring a miracle that we trade for someone.

Andrew "@Monsterfan99 I told you this would be the Angels season in Fantasy Baseball Q." Iorio

[monsterfan99]

^And you are getting a sound thrashing in fantasy baseball this week as well With how odd the AL West is with 3 of the 4 teams being known to choke, the Angels still have a chance. They are only 3.5 games back in a weak division.

[dandaman]

Not even a baseball fan, but all the Detroit stations and even CNN it seems are up in arms over the call on the Tigers pitcher's 27th hitter. Was clearly out on replay, ump called it safe, spoiled the season's 3rd perfect game.

 

 

Also Ken Griffey Jr. is retiring after 22 years, apparently. This has been your Dandaman newsflash of things he doesn't really follow on a regular basis.

[Dailey Enterprizes]

^ Yeah, I heard about both of them on MLB TV. I guess Junior had to leave sometime and I'm glad it's not turning out like some Brett Favre dilemma or whatever. I can't see the picture that you're referring too, but I saw the replay and it's really obvious that he was out.

[KPfreak519]

I wouldn't be surprised if Jim Joyce doesn't make it out of the city of Detroit alive. That was possibly the worst call I have ever seen...not just how he was obviously out, but the magnitude of the situation as well.

[Sir Clinksalot]

God, that has to be one of the worst calls in MLB history. I'm totally sick to my stomach seeing that call and to take away a perfect game from that kid. There is absolutely no way that he was safe. Even the runner couldn't believe that he was called safe.

[BelizeIt]

Once again here's the argument for some sort of instant replay.

 

That pitcher isn't likely to ever throw another perfect game in his career, so that's a bitter pill for him to swallow. Obviously you couldn't use it for balls/strikes, but for situations like this or homeruns/foul line calls.

 

It's hard to believe there has already been (almost) three Perfect Games so far this season.

 

Way to go pitchers!

[Sir Clinksalot]

IMO, there HAVE been 3 perfect games this season. One guy just got screwed.

 

As for why there have been 3 perfect games ... well, you get the hitters off the roids and they just aren't as good.

[dandaman]

Is there any way the league is allowed to overturn this? I mean, I just learned since this happened that the MLB doesn't even allow instant replay, so I was sorta hoping a higher-up or a commission could revise the call.

[Sir Clinksalot]

As much as I hope they would, there is probably no way that it will get overturned. Baseball has always had the "Human" element involved in the officiating and they have been so hesitant to get Instant Replay for home-runs.

 

That said, if Instant Replay had been available for this play there is NO WAY it doesn't get overturned.

[dandaman]

An article regarding Bud Selig's ability to overturn the call: http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/Bud-Selig-must-overrule-call-that-wiped-out-perfect-game-060210

[Sir Clinksalot]

Interesting article.

 

Not too often you will see any official (or anybody else for that matter) take 100% responsibility for screwing up, but Joyce did it. I actually kind of feel bad for the guy now. As an umpire who has been in the league so long he knows baseball history and knows that he screwed it up.

 

It will be interesting to see what happens with this one. Selig needs to do something and do something quick. He can't keep quiet about it.

[ParkTrips]

well, you get the hitters off the roids and they just aren't as good.

cause no pitchers have ever used PEDs

 

I say don't over turn the call. Sorry. Blown calls are part of baseball, it was a bang-bang judgment play. It happens, and has for years. The kid knows what he did, and I really don't want to ever see replay used for balls/strikes, and safe/out. I would probably be ok with fair/foul being under video scrutiny

 

Really, really bad call though.

 

If I can't get 5th down back, this kid can't have his perfect game

[Chris Benvenuto]

^ Jim Joyce is not going to have a fun time in Detroit tonight, regardless of what happens.

There's been alot of calls to the MLB offices in NYC tonight and today, with people wanting the last call reversed. Public opinion en-mass has a profound effect on businesses and events mostly involving the public. We'll see what happens.

 

Horrific call, IMO. I may be a Tigers fan, and support them out the butt, but that had to be THE WORST call I've ever seen. Ever since I've started to cheer for them in the Spring of 1994 when my family first moved to Detroit.

[bigstevet07]

Not only did he ruin the perfect game, but Jim Joyce also overshadowed the retirement of the greatest player I've been alive to see. Griffey would have smashed Aaron's record if it wasn't for injuries. See you in the hall Kid.

[Sir Clinksalot]

Chris, you don't have to be a Tigers fan to be upset about this call. Any "Baseball" fan should be.

 

ESPN played some clips of different announcers around the league replaying the call (Rays, Yankees, Pirates, etc) and all of them were shocked.

[Hercules]

All of the negatives aside, I think there are a few things that need to be taken away from this:

 

1. Armando Galarraga still pitched one hell of a game. I know it won't go down as a glitzy perfect game or no-hitter, but after watching all of the at bats this morning, he was on to the point that it was an art.

 

2. Jim Joyce made a crap call, but he honestly felt bad about it, and he did the best that he could after the game, manned up, and apologized to everyone involved. That was really all he could do at that point. He even stayed on the field after the game was over and really took it up the butt from Leyland and the rest of the Tigers.

 

3. Hell, I have to give credit to Jason Donald for speeding down the line and hustling. He could have easily just trot down to first and given in, especially considering Cleveland is so horrible this year and really didn't have anything to gain even if they did end up pulling out the game with one out left.

[ParkTrips]

3. Hell, I have to give credit to Jason Donald for speeding down the line and hustling. He could have easily just trot down to first and given in...

True that! You know these guys always want to be the guy to break up a no-hitter *legitimately*, so kudos to him for hustling and almost doing so

[Hercules]

So Stephen Strasburg starts tonight. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

I had the opportunity to see him make his debut with the Harrisburg Senators in Double A on opening night in April, and he really had some stuff. It was incredible to see him in person, in such an intimate setting - the renovations to the park now make it a 8,500 seat venue. I am still fairly young, but this is the most hype I have seen for anyone making their debut in the majors. Obviously, I think the way our generation is currently with all of these mediums of communication has helped this. I would assume that someone like Dwight Gooden, or Alex Rodrigez would have had just as much hype in the public eye rather than purely in the baseball circles had there been high speed internet, blogs, and videos of everything imaginable a couple decades ago. I am glad to see a bit of a revitalization in the Washington baseball scene. I remember a few summers ago when I was still near the New York area, and I couldn't wait to see Pedro Martinez pitch every fifth day - the buzz in and around the city was amazing when he was pitching well for the Mets. I really hope that this guy will delivery as it will be cool for DC to be a Nationals town at least for every fifth day, rather than always being a Redskins town.

[Dailey Enterprizes]

I hope the Pirates win. It's not that I want to see Strasburg lose horribly because he's a rookie, but I want the Pirates to win more games. I imagine the team as a whole will approach tonight's game no differently than any game they've played, but maybe the individual veterans will take it upon themselves to show the him what it's like to give up a home run or two.

[Hercules]

I'm not a fan of the Pirates, but I have to say that I try to support them as I really feel for the baseball fans who have stuck by them. But seriously, who in that lineup right now can actually produce anything, let alone home runs? They are looking really pathetic right now. I know that Strasburg has not pitched in the majors yet, and he could still really be a bust of sorts, but I really fully expect him to make them look foolish for 6-7 innings tonight.

[HCLcoasters]

I'm from DC so naturally I'm watching Strasburg tear it up right now. It's fun to see a DC team do well! Next year is our year, we have the number 1 pick in basketball, a great hockey team, and a great pitcher in DC. We may finally have a chance to win something!

[monsterfan99]

14'ks through 7 IN pitched is insane. Gives Nats fans like me hope.

[Josh Linn]

He's a machine. His CHANGEUP is 88-91 and his sinker is 95-97...it's just not fair. The movement that his 4-seamer had is ridiculous and unheard of. I pray that he doesn't go the way of Mark Prior and we can see starts like these for the next 10+ years.