MLB 2012

Off Topic
341

[quote]therajraj wrote:

[quote]strungoutboy21 wrote:
Man is Carlos Quentin on fire since playing his first games of the year. He’s played five games and has five doubles and five homers. I already saw Buster Olney talking about him being trade bait. Screw that, I want at least one guy on my team that is exciting to watch.[/quote]

Just saw the first home run. Not taking anything away from Quentin but I don’t think a pitch can get any closer to dead centre than that.

I wouldn’t get too excited over 5 games though. Enjoy the ride, leave the expectations at home.

[/quote]
Obviously you didn’t see the second one. The ball was almost at his ankles when he hit it and it was a line drive to straight away center field. Thanks for the positivity.

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=22051349&c_id=sd&partnerId=aw-7037471184177046120-1042

342

[quote]therajraj wrote:

[quote]strungoutboy21 wrote:
Man is Carlos Quentin on fire since playing his first games of the year. He’s played five games and has five doubles and five homers. I already saw Buster Olney talking about him being trade bait. Screw that, I want at least one guy on my team that is exciting to watch.[/quote]

Just saw the first home run. Not taking anything away from Quentin but I don’t think a pitch can get any closer to dead centre than that.

I wouldn’t get too excited over 5 games though. Enjoy the ride, leave the expectations at home.

[/quote]

In all fairness, the one he hit later off of Affeldt was more impressive. He took a slider that was down and in off the plate after a 93 mph fastball with sink on the outside corner and golfed the fucking thing over the fence to straight-away centerfield. It was a good pitch but he beat that one as well.

343

[quote]DBCooper wrote:

[quote]therajraj wrote:

[quote]DBCooper wrote:

[quote]therajraj wrote:
Question for you California guys. If I wanted to come to California and catch a game at every MLB ballpark located in the state, how bad would the drives between each stadium be?

[/quote]

Well, to get from the Giants park to the Oakland Coliseum is only about 15 minutes away. The Bay Bridge is just a few minutes from AT&T.

Of course, since you’re just interested in major league teams you could just skip the trip to Oakland.

I’m not sure about LA and SD though. I think Dodger Stadium is about an hour or so north of Angels Stadium in typical traffic. SD is probably another hour and a half or so from Anaheim. If you were to drive, you could just take Highway 1 from SF to LA. It’s a long drive but it’s all along the coast, probably the most beautiful drive you could go on in the United States. SF to LA is about 8 or 9 hours if you miss bad traffic, so Highway 1 is probably another two hours.[/quote]

Interesting thanks.

How many parks have you been to?[/quote]

I’ve been to Candlestick Park about a million times back when the Giants still played there. I’ve been to AT&T about as many times. Oakland, Dodger Stadium, Angels Stadium, San Diego when they still played at Jack Murphy Stadium, Coors Field and Mile High, Camden Yards the first year it opened and I also saw a game in Montreal when I was about 2 years old. Don’t remember that one at all. That was when Olympic Stadium was only a few years old.

I haven’t been to very many of the newer parks at all and I’ve still never been to Fenway or Wrigley. I could care less if I ever visit Fenway though. Red Sox fans are about as pathetic and obnoxious as they come and I’ve yet to see an in-game tradition as hokey and bush league as singing “Sweet Caroline” every fucking game. Not like I’m going to watch good baseball there anyways.

hat and the whole “roll call” bullshit at Yankee Stadium. Seriously. If you want to see a real baseball atmosphere come to AT&T Park, where the fans are as knowledgeable as any in the game, they boo anyone even attempting the wave, it’s always sold-out, there’s no bullshit sing-along other than “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” and they don’t mow a shitload of weird geometric shapes into the grass. It’s just green grass, no stripes or patterns or anything like that. Just green grass, brown dirt and the most beautiful view in the majors beyond the outfield fence.[/quote]

I know I’m entering perhaps the fight of my life but I disagree with you homie.

The loge and upper deck levels of Dodger stadium have amazing views. Especially when you’ve got a 7:05 first pitch as the sun is setting. It’s an iconic park with the mountains in the background. It’s pretty impressive.

Dodger dogs abound with a decent selection of beers. Merch and ice cream are always near by. The fans are fun, knowlegable, behave themselves pretty well, especially after last seasons’ bullshit. The standard Dodger fan is embarrassed by what happened to that dude last year.

344

[quote]DBCooper wrote:

[quote]therajraj wrote:
Question for you California guys. If I wanted to come to California and catch a game at every MLB ballpark located in the state, how bad would the drives between each stadium be?

[/quote]

Well, to get from the Giants park to the Oakland Coliseum is only about 15 minutes away. The Bay Bridge is just a few minutes from AT&T.

Of course, since you’re just interested in major league teams you could just skip the trip to Oakland.

I’m not sure about LA and SD though. I think Dodger Stadium is about an hour or so north of Angels Stadium in typical traffic. SD is probably another hour and a half or so from Anaheim. If you were to drive, you could just take Highway 1 from SF to LA. It’s a long drive but it’s all along the coast, probably the most beautiful drive you could go on in the United States. SF to LA is about 8 or 9 hours if you miss bad traffic, so Highway 1 is probably another two hours.[/quote]

I’ll clarify a bit regarding the SoCal stadiums, if you don’t mind.

The handy thing about Dodgers, Angels, and Padres stadiums is that you can take the train and not worry about traffic if you don’t want to. The train stops about a mile from Petco and you can either take a cab or ride the trolley. The Anahiem train stop is practically in the parking lot of Angels stadium, and Union Station in LA is maybe three miles from Dodger Stadium. When I used to commute on the train a lot I’d always see fans going to games, it’s a pretty common mode of transportation for fans that live far from the parks.

Timewise, the train gets you from SD to Angles stadium in 2 hours and cost you $54 bucks round trip.

SD to Los Angeles Union Station take about 2 hours 45 and will run you 72 bucks round trip.

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/HomePage

San Diego’s ball park is a beauty. Really great place to see a ball game, right on the edge of downtown, and pretty good food and beer. Bummer is that the Padres are really really fucking bad and there’s hardly anyone at the games unless the Dodgers, Giants, Cubs, Phillies, etc. are in town. Gone are the days of “Trevor Time” when Hells Bells would make the fans go ape-shit.

Angles Stadium to me feels a little too Disney, what with that whole rock wall thing out in center and the sprawl of Orange County in every direction you look.

Dodgers Stadium is my favorite, though. Tons of fucking history, lots of parking, good chow, and night games are always pretty comfortable weather-wise. Day games, however, are a different story. I try to avoid day games. Since that park is in a ravine it’s a challenge to find a breeze, and the sun just cooks you.

Probably the two best sports stadiums in California are Dodgers Stadium and the Rose Bowl, which are both creatively tucked into ravines amongst the pines and hills. Good Stuff.

345

If you ever get the chance, Busch Stadium is a pretty awesome stadium. The old was was good, the new one is great.

346

[quote]Viernes wrote:

[quote]DBCooper wrote:

[quote]therajraj wrote:
Question for you California guys. If I wanted to come to California and catch a game at every MLB ballpark located in the state, how bad would the drives between each stadium be?

[/quote]

Well, to get from the Giants park to the Oakland Coliseum is only about 15 minutes away. The Bay Bridge is just a few minutes from AT&T.

Of course, since you’re just interested in major league teams you could just skip the trip to Oakland.

I’m not sure about LA and SD though. I think Dodger Stadium is about an hour or so north of Angels Stadium in typical traffic. SD is probably another hour and a half or so from Anaheim. If you were to drive, you could just take Highway 1 from SF to LA. It’s a long drive but it’s all along the coast, probably the most beautiful drive you could go on in the United States. SF to LA is about 8 or 9 hours if you miss bad traffic, so Highway 1 is probably another two hours.[/quote]

I’ll clarify a bit regarding the SoCal stadiums, if you don’t mind.

The handy thing about Dodgers, Angels, and Padres stadiums is that you can take the train and not worry about traffic if you don’t want to. The train stops about a mile from Petco and you can either take a cab or ride the trolley. The Anahiem train stop is practically in the parking lot of Angels stadium, and Union Station in LA is maybe three miles from Dodger Stadium. When I used to commute on the train a lot I’d always see fans going to games, it’s a pretty common mode of transportation for fans that live far from the parks.

Timewise, the train gets you from SD to Angles stadium in 2 hours and cost you $54 bucks round trip.

SD to Los Angeles Union Station take about 2 hours 45 and will run you 72 bucks round trip.

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/HomePage

San Diego’s ball park is a beauty. Really great place to see a ball game, right on the edge of downtown, and pretty good food and beer. Bummer is that the Padres are really really fucking bad and there’s hardly anyone at the games unless the Dodgers, Giants, Cubs, Phillies, etc. are in town. Gone are the days of “Trevor Time” when Hells Bells would make the fans go ape-shit.

Angles Stadium to me feels a little too Disney, what with that whole rock wall thing out in center and the sprawl of Orange County in every direction you look.

Dodgers Stadium is my favorite, though. Tons of fucking history, lots of parking, good chow, and night games are always pretty comfortable weather-wise. Day games, however, are a different story. I try to avoid day games. Since that park is in a ravine it’s a challenge to find a breeze, and the sun just cooks you.

Probably the two best sports stadiums in California are Dodgers Stadium and the Rose Bowl, which are both creatively tucked into ravines amongst the pines and hills. Good Stuff.

[/quote]

I’ll second Petco park as a beauty and the train is very convenient allowing you to bring a case of beer on board for the trip there. Quick ride too. And it is awesome being pretty much right in the gaslamp area for drinks afterward. Right now it’s just a cool place to hang out, nothing more as it is completely lacking in atmosphere complared to the dodgers and angels stadiums.

347

[quote]Viernes wrote:

[quote]DBCooper wrote:

[quote]therajraj wrote:
Question for you California guys. If I wanted to come to California and catch a game at every MLB ballpark located in the state, how bad would the drives between each stadium be?

[/quote]

Well, to get from the Giants park to the Oakland Coliseum is only about 15 minutes away. The Bay Bridge is just a few minutes from AT&T.

Of course, since you’re just interested in major league teams you could just skip the trip to Oakland.

I’m not sure about LA and SD though. I think Dodger Stadium is about an hour or so north of Angels Stadium in typical traffic. SD is probably another hour and a half or so from Anaheim. If you were to drive, you could just take Highway 1 from SF to LA. It’s a long drive but it’s all along the coast, probably the most beautiful drive you could go on in the United States. SF to LA is about 8 or 9 hours if you miss bad traffic, so Highway 1 is probably another two hours.[/quote]

I’ll clarify a bit regarding the SoCal stadiums, if you don’t mind.

The handy thing about Dodgers, Angels, and Padres stadiums is that you can take the train and not worry about traffic if you don’t want to. The train stops about a mile from Petco and you can either take a cab or ride the trolley. The Anahiem train stop is practically in the parking lot of Angels stadium, and Union Station in LA is maybe three miles from Dodger Stadium. When I used to commute on the train a lot I’d always see fans going to games, it’s a pretty common mode of transportation for fans that live far from the parks.

Timewise, the train gets you from SD to Angles stadium in 2 hours and cost you $54 bucks round trip.

SD to Los Angeles Union Station take about 2 hours 45 and will run you 72 bucks round trip.

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/HomePage

San Diego’s ball park is a beauty. Really great place to see a ball game, right on the edge of downtown, and pretty good food and beer. Bummer is that the Padres are really really fucking bad and there’s hardly anyone at the games unless the Dodgers, Giants, Cubs, Phillies, etc. are in town. Gone are the days of “Trevor Time” when Hells Bells would make the fans go ape-shit.

Angles Stadium to me feels a little too Disney, what with that whole rock wall thing out in center and the sprawl of Orange County in every direction you look.

Dodgers Stadium is my favorite, though. Tons of fucking history, lots of parking, good chow, and night games are always pretty comfortable weather-wise. Day games, however, are a different story. I try to avoid day games. Since that park is in a ravine it’s a challenge to find a breeze, and the sun just cooks you.

Probably the two best sports stadiums in California are Dodgers Stadium and the Rose Bowl, which are both creatively tucked into ravines amongst the pines and hills. Good Stuff.

[/quote]
Well the good thing is that at Petco you can get some good seats off of scalpers for really cheap!

348

Thanks for the info guys!

349

[quote]Maiden3.16 wrote:

I’ll second Petco park as a beauty and the train is very convenient allowing you to bring a case of beer on board for the trip there. [/quote]

Isn’t the best place to pre-drink in any city the subway?

350

Agreed on Chavez Ravine and the food at AT&T. (for example, they were WAY ahead of everyone else on the garlic fries)

Distance-wise, DBC hit it. Bay Area parks aren’t far apart, ~6hr drive from the bay to southland, add a couple hrs to that if you’re taking Pacific Coast Hwy down the coast, Chavez Ravine just north of downtown, about an hour south to Anaheim, and another 1.5hrs down I-5 and you’re in diego.

And of course no mention of southern CA is complete without including the “other” major suburb: drive to vegas is ~3.5hrs from LA)

351

[quote]Viernes wrote:

[quote]DBCooper wrote:

[quote]therajraj wrote:

[quote]DBCooper wrote:

[quote]therajraj wrote:
Question for you California guys. If I wanted to come to California and catch a game at every MLB ballpark located in the state, how bad would the drives between each stadium be?

[/quote]

Well, to get from the Giants park to the Oakland Coliseum is only about 15 minutes away. The Bay Bridge is just a few minutes from AT&T.

Of course, since you’re just interested in major league teams you could just skip the trip to Oakland.

I’m not sure about LA and SD though. I think Dodger Stadium is about an hour or so north of Angels Stadium in typical traffic. SD is probably another hour and a half or so from Anaheim. If you were to drive, you could just take Highway 1 from SF to LA. It’s a long drive but it’s all along the coast, probably the most beautiful drive you could go on in the United States. SF to LA is about 8 or 9 hours if you miss bad traffic, so Highway 1 is probably another two hours.[/quote]

Interesting thanks.

How many parks have you been to?[/quote]

I’ve been to Candlestick Park about a million times back when the Giants still played there. I’ve been to AT&T about as many times. Oakland, Dodger Stadium, Angels Stadium, San Diego when they still played at Jack Murphy Stadium, Coors Field and Mile High, Camden Yards the first year it opened and I also saw a game in Montreal when I was about 2 years old. Don’t remember that one at all. That was when Olympic Stadium was only a few years old.

I haven’t been to very many of the newer parks at all and I’ve still never been to Fenway or Wrigley. I could care less if I ever visit Fenway though. Red Sox fans are about as pathetic and obnoxious as they come and I’ve yet to see an in-game tradition as hokey and bush league as singing “Sweet Caroline” every fucking game. Not like I’m going to watch good baseball there anyways.

hat and the whole “roll call” bullshit at Yankee Stadium. Seriously. If you want to see a real baseball atmosphere come to AT&T Park, where the fans are as knowledgeable as any in the game, they boo anyone even attempting the wave, it’s always sold-out, there’s no bullshit sing-along other than “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” and they don’t mow a shitload of weird geometric shapes into the grass. It’s just green grass, no stripes or patterns or anything like that. Just green grass, brown dirt and the most beautiful view in the majors beyond the outfield fence.[/quote]

I know I’m entering perhaps the fight of my life but I disagree with you homie.

The loge and upper deck levels of Dodger stadium have amazing views. Especially when you’ve got a 7:05 first pitch as the sun is setting. It’s an iconic park with the mountains in the background. It’s pretty impressive.

Dodger dogs abound with a decent selection of beers. Merch and ice cream are always near by. The fans are fun, knowlegable, behave themselves pretty well, especially after last seasons’ bullshit. The standard Dodger fan is embarrassed by what happened to that dude last year.[/quote]
Views of the smog-filled LA Basin are nowhere near what a view of the San Francisco Bay with the Oakland Hills on the other side is. Obviously you’ve never been to a game at AT&T Park or you wouldn’t be making this asinine comparison. Smog or the bay? The only good thing about Dodger Stadium is that the smog everywhere makes the sunsets look unique color-wise. That’s about it.

352

[quote]Viernes wrote:

[quote]DBCooper wrote:

[quote]therajraj wrote:
Question for you California guys. If I wanted to come to California and catch a game at every MLB ballpark located in the state, how bad would the drives between each stadium be?

[/quote]

Well, to get from the Giants park to the Oakland Coliseum is only about 15 minutes away. The Bay Bridge is just a few minutes from AT&T.

Of course, since you’re just interested in major league teams you could just skip the trip to Oakland.

I’m not sure about LA and SD though. I think Dodger Stadium is about an hour or so north of Angels Stadium in typical traffic. SD is probably another hour and a half or so from Anaheim. If you were to drive, you could just take Highway 1 from SF to LA. It’s a long drive but it’s all along the coast, probably the most beautiful drive you could go on in the United States. SF to LA is about 8 or 9 hours if you miss bad traffic, so Highway 1 is probably another two hours.[/quote]

I’ll clarify a bit regarding the SoCal stadiums, if you don’t mind.

The handy thing about Dodgers, Angels, and Padres stadiums is that you can take the train and not worry about traffic if you don’t want to. The train stops about a mile from Petco and you can either take a cab or ride the trolley. The Anahiem train stop is practically in the parking lot of Angels stadium, and Union Station in LA is maybe three miles from Dodger Stadium. When I used to commute on the train a lot I’d always see fans going to games, it’s a pretty common mode of transportation for fans that live far from the parks.

Timewise, the train gets you from SD to Angles stadium in 2 hours and cost you $54 bucks round trip.

SD to Los Angeles Union Station take about 2 hours 45 and will run you 72 bucks round trip.

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/HomePage

San Diego’s ball park is a beauty. Really great place to see a ball game, right on the edge of downtown, and pretty good food and beer. Bummer is that the Padres are really really fucking bad and there’s hardly anyone at the games unless the Dodgers, Giants, Cubs, Phillies, etc. are in town. Gone are the days of “Trevor Time” when Hells Bells would make the fans go ape-shit.

Angles Stadium to me feels a little too Disney, what with that whole rock wall thing out in center and the sprawl of Orange County in every direction you look.

Dodgers Stadium is my favorite, though. Tons of fucking history, lots of parking, good chow, and night games are always pretty comfortable weather-wise. Day games, however, are a different story. I try to avoid day games. Since that park is in a ravine it’s a challenge to find a breeze, and the sun just cooks you.

Probably the two best sports stadiums in California are Dodgers Stadium and the Rose Bowl, which are both creatively tucked into ravines amongst the pines and hills. Good Stuff.

[/quote]
That sucks about the trains down there. In the Bay Area you can take a train from San Jose to SF (about an hour trip, hour and a half if you’re in south San Jose) that drops you off literally right in front of the stadium for about 10 bucks.

353

[quote]DBCooper wrote:

[quote]Viernes wrote:

[quote]DBCooper wrote:

[quote]therajraj wrote:

[quote]DBCooper wrote:

[quote]therajraj wrote:
Question for you California guys. If I wanted to come to California and catch a game at every MLB ballpark located in the state, how bad would the drives between each stadium be?

[/quote]

Well, to get from the Giants park to the Oakland Coliseum is only about 15 minutes away. The Bay Bridge is just a few minutes from AT&T.

Of course, since you’re just interested in major league teams you could just skip the trip to Oakland.

I’m not sure about LA and SD though. I think Dodger Stadium is about an hour or so north of Angels Stadium in typical traffic. SD is probably another hour and a half or so from Anaheim. If you were to drive, you could just take Highway 1 from SF to LA. It’s a long drive but it’s all along the coast, probably the most beautiful drive you could go on in the United States. SF to LA is about 8 or 9 hours if you miss bad traffic, so Highway 1 is probably another two hours.[/quote]

Interesting thanks.

How many parks have you been to?[/quote]

I’ve been to Candlestick Park about a million times back when the Giants still played there. I’ve been to AT&T about as many times. Oakland, Dodger Stadium, Angels Stadium, San Diego when they still played at Jack Murphy Stadium, Coors Field and Mile High, Camden Yards the first year it opened and I also saw a game in Montreal when I was about 2 years old. Don’t remember that one at all. That was when Olympic Stadium was only a few years old.

I haven’t been to very many of the newer parks at all and I’ve still never been to Fenway or Wrigley. I could care less if I ever visit Fenway though. Red Sox fans are about as pathetic and obnoxious as they come and I’ve yet to see an in-game tradition as hokey and bush league as singing “Sweet Caroline” every fucking game. Not like I’m going to watch good baseball there anyways.

hat and the whole “roll call” bullshit at Yankee Stadium. Seriously. If you want to see a real baseball atmosphere come to AT&T Park, where the fans are as knowledgeable as any in the game, they boo anyone even attempting the wave, it’s always sold-out, there’s no bullshit sing-along other than “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” and they don’t mow a shitload of weird geometric shapes into the grass. It’s just green grass, no stripes or patterns or anything like that. Just green grass, brown dirt and the most beautiful view in the majors beyond the outfield fence.[/quote]

I know I’m entering perhaps the fight of my life but I disagree with you homie.

The loge and upper deck levels of Dodger stadium have amazing views. Especially when you’ve got a 7:05 first pitch as the sun is setting. It’s an iconic park with the mountains in the background. It’s pretty impressive.

Dodger dogs abound with a decent selection of beers. Merch and ice cream are always near by. The fans are fun, knowlegable, behave themselves pretty well, especially after last seasons’ bullshit. The standard Dodger fan is embarrassed by what happened to that dude last year.[/quote]
Views of the smog-filled LA Basin are nowhere near what a view of the San Francisco Bay with the Oakland Hills on the other side is. Obviously you’ve never been to a game at AT&T Park or you wouldn’t be making this asinine comparison. Smog or the bay? The only good thing about Dodger Stadium is that the smog everywhere makes the sunsets look unique color-wise. That’s about it.[/quote]

Smog really isn’t much of a factor these days. I knew you’d react this way and that’s cool. For every stadium I’ve been to (Including AT&T), Dodgers stadium consistently delivers.

354

So I just noticed something… Giants have the 2nd best record in baseball tied with the Rangers. Uh how?

Lincecum has been shit… they’re 2-10 in his starts

Huff/Belt/Pill have given them nothing offensively. Middle Infield is atrocious.

Sandoval is injured and has regained a lot of weight he lost. Apparently he’s been out sexually assaulting women in his spare time too.

I honestly can’t believe the year Melky Cabrera is having. When I’ve watched him in previous years, he was nothing more than a utility guy with a plus arm.

I’ve noticed a trend though. Players who move from the AL to NL generally maintain or excel their play. Players that move in the opposite direction maintain or dip in performance.

355

[quote]therajraj wrote:
So I just noticed something… Giants have the 2nd best record in baseball tied with the Rangers. Uh how?

Lincecum has been shit… they’re 2-10 in his starts

Huff/Belt/Pill have given them nothing offensively. Middle Infield is atrocious.

Sandoval is injured and has regained a lot of weight he lost. Apparently he’s been out sexually assaulting women in his spare time too.

I honestly can’t believe the year Melky Cabrera is having. When I’ve watched him in previous years, he was nothing more than a utility guy with a plus arm.

I’ve noticed a trend though. Players who move from the AL to NL generally maintain or excel their play. Players that move in the opposite direction maintain or dip in performance.[/quote]

Lincecum is struggling but the rest of the staff is pitching great, including Zito, who’s basically a .500 pitcher this year which is about all they can ask of that piece of shit at this point. Cain looks like the best pitcher in the NL right now. Their bullpen has been shaky at times but when healthy they’re a legit group even without Wilson.

As far as hitting goes, they’ve received a big boost in the leadoff spot from Gregor Blanco, who walks a ton of the time, and Posey and Pagan have also been hitting the cover off the ball for the last month. The bottom of the lineup is still shit, but when Sandoval comes back they’ll have Blanco, Pagan, Cabrera, Posey, Sandoval (or vice versa), and a bunch of nobodies after that. It’s a lineup with a legit first 5 hitters and more speed top to bottom than they’ve had in years, maybe decades.

If Lincecum picks it up, Bumgarner, Cain and Vogelsong keep pitching lights out the way they have since about the middle of May last year, they maybe add a hard-throwing right-hander to the bullpen, continue to get improving defense from Crawford at SS and start getting some sort of production from 1st base they’ll be the best team in the NL. Their pitching is going to continue to be amongst the best in baseball and their offense is already better and more dynamic due to more speed at several positions. Plus they’re taking more walks over the last month or so, Sabean has a decent track record of picking up contributing players around, or even after, the trading deadline, and they have a top prospect in Triple A who is a closer and throws 100mph, so right there is the potential right hander their bullpen needs. They’re well-equipped to overtake the Dodgers and perhaps get the overall best record in the NL this year.

356

Not to mention, Rangers have been struggling a bit.

357

Too many no hitter this season, need to reintroduce 'roids back into the game.

358

[quote]DBCooper wrote:

[quote]therajraj wrote:

[quote]DBCooper wrote:

[quote]therajraj wrote:
Question for you California guys. If I wanted to come to California and catch a game at every MLB ballpark located in the state, how bad would the drives between each stadium be?

[/quote]

Well, to get from the Giants park to the Oakland Coliseum is only about 15 minutes away. The Bay Bridge is just a few minutes from AT&T.

Of course, since you’re just interested in major league teams you could just skip the trip to Oakland.

I’m not sure about LA and SD though. I think Dodger Stadium is about an hour or so north of Angels Stadium in typical traffic. SD is probably another hour and a half or so from Anaheim. If you were to drive, you could just take Highway 1 from SF to LA. It’s a long drive but it’s all along the coast, probably the most beautiful drive you could go on in the United States. SF to LA is about 8 or 9 hours if you miss bad traffic, so Highway 1 is probably another two hours.[/quote]

Interesting thanks.

How many parks have you been to?[/quote]

I’ve been to Candlestick Park about a million times back when the Giants still played there. I’ve been to AT&T about as many times. Oakland, Dodger Stadium, Angels Stadium, San Diego when they still played at Jack Murphy Stadium, Coors Field and Mile High, Camden Yards the first year it opened and I also saw a game in Montreal when I was about 2 years old. Don’t remember that one at all. That was when Olympic Stadium was only a few years old.

I haven’t been to very many of the newer parks at all and I’ve still never been to Fenway or Wrigley. I could care less if I ever visit Fenway though. Red Sox fans are about as pathetic and obnoxious as they come and I’ve yet to see an in-game tradition as hokey and bush league as singing “Sweet Caroline” every fucking game. Not like I’m going to watch good baseball there anyways.

hat and the whole “roll call” bullshit at Yankee Stadium. Seriously. If you want to see a real baseball atmosphere come to AT&T Park, where the fans are as knowledgeable as any in the game, they boo anyone even attempting the wave, it’s always sold-out, there’s no bullshit sing-along other than “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” and they don’t mow a shitload of weird geometric shapes into the grass. It’s just green grass, no stripes or patterns or anything like that. Just green grass, brown dirt and the most beautiful view in the majors beyond the outfield fence.[/quote]

I hate the wave.

359

[quote]therajraj wrote:
So I just noticed something… Giants have the 2nd best record in baseball tied with the Rangers. Uh how?

Lincecum has been shit… they’re 2-10 in his starts

Huff/Belt/Pill have given them nothing offensively. Middle Infield is atrocious.

Sandoval is injured and has regained a lot of weight he lost. Apparently he’s been out sexually assaulting women in his spare time too.

I honestly can’t believe the year Melky Cabrera is having. When I’ve watched him in previous years, he was nothing more than a utility guy with a plus arm.

I’ve noticed a trend though. Players who move from the AL to NL generally maintain or excel their play. Players that move in the opposite direction maintain or dip in performance.[/quote]

Their off season moves apparently worked. Lincecum will get back on track, and the 2nd half should be even stronger when he does. Melky is having a banner year for sure, the prick. With the Braves he was about to be sent to Gwinnett he was doing so bad. We begged him to leave.

360

Hey raj, since you’re the big sabermetrician on here, what do you think of Batting on Balls In Play (BABIP)? Personally, I don’t like it that much in this respect: I always hear people cite a low BABIP (I think the league average is about .330) as opposed to either that player’s career avg or the league avg as indication that the player is destined to start hitting better if his overall avg is low at the time.

For instance, say a player with a career avg of .280 is currently only hitting .245 and his BABIP is .275, down from his career mark of .330. Doesn’t that low BABIP this year indicate that he’s simply getting unlucky and will most likely trend upward in terms of his overall avg?

The reason I don’t like this analysis is that it doesn’t take into account what type of hitter the player in question is. I think a hitter who doesn’t have a ton of power or doesn’t use the middle of the field well will not trend upward in the same way that a player who does one or both of these things will. The reason is that a hitter who uses the middle of the field has a better chance of getting base hits as opposed to one who pulls the ball more often. Balls grounded up the middle go for base hits more than balls grounded to one side of the infield or the other and a fly ball to center has one outfielder chasing it down rather than two if it is in either gap. Furthermore, a player with more power will get more hits on balls hit right at infielders because it is routinely hit harder. A ball not fielded cleanly when it is hit very hard, even if it’s a grounder, is much more likely to be a hit than an error.

So a player with power and/or who uses the middle of the field should trend upward in terms of BABIP more than a player who doesn’t have the same power or approach. Take two identical players regarding batting avg, career BABIP and their respective current averages and BABIP for this particular season. If they are both below their career numbers by the same amount, sabermetrics tells me that they should both revert to the mean in the same manner. But in real life they are not as likely to both revert to that standard.