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Post by Allen Wiener on Jun 18, 2012 14:30:53 GMT -5
I expect big things from Harper; I just don't want to see any more 0-for-7 days! Fun to watch a good, enthusiastic young team growing. But what of the puzzling Os??? Are they so far over their heads they don't know it, or is this for real?
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Post by Paul Sylvain on Jun 18, 2012 17:05:12 GMT -5
Well, the under-achieving Red Sox can make any team look good this year.
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Post by Allen Wiener on Jun 18, 2012 20:36:39 GMT -5
No explaining the Sox; I'll never get this Yankee thing; it doesn't seem to matter what happens, they always win. It's no money either; the Sox and others have spent plenty too. It's just --- weird! The Os got their clock cleaned by Dickey & the Mets tonight; Dickey's got 11 wins, struck out 13 and threw a one-hitter. Not bad!
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Post by Paul Sylvain on Jun 19, 2012 19:17:13 GMT -5
I'm sure if you go back you'll see where I posted something about the AL East always plays out like a Soap opera. Normally the Sox soar out of the gate and the Yanks struggle early on, but somewhere around mid-June, the Yanks catch fire and roar through to the finish. Well. I was only half right this year. The Sox have played .500 ball or worse ALL season, but the Yanks were almost as bad at one point, then caught fire and ... well ... here we go again, like it was scripted. I've come to expect exactly this from the Yanks every year.
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Post by Allen Wiener on Jun 20, 2012 20:53:36 GMT -5
Well, after 27 consecutive scoreless innings, the Os finally scored a run; in fact, 2 runs.
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Post by Hiram on Jun 20, 2012 23:12:15 GMT -5
Just to reiterate...I'm a Cardinals fan, always have been, always will be; but it's hard to ignore the soap opera known otherwise as the American League East division. I offer up for your consideration; the senior guru (Davey Johnson) versus the junior guru (Joe Maddon) and the latest pine tar incident. Lots of posturing between the two skippers accompanied by some verbal throw downs. I'm confident at some point the oral jesting will center more around the game of baseball rather than the current subject of whatever the hell it is they're talking about. In the meantime, three teams have more than 40 wins...the Yankees, Rangers, and Dodgers. Of the three, I expect two to be there come October, New York and Texas.
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Post by Allen Wiener on Jun 21, 2012 8:01:16 GMT -5
Well, Hiram, I expect them all to be there in the second season (the playoffs), but after that it's kind of a crapshoot. As Cardinals fan, you can see what I mean by the stunning peformance of your team in last year's post season. I would be thrilled to see either the Nats or Os in the post season.
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Post by loucapitano on Jun 21, 2012 12:40:04 GMT -5
What's wrong with this picture? Is it too much to expect a $26,000,000 ball player to hit 320 and have 40+ homers? It's what I expect from A-Rod and all he gave us was a rally killing double-play against Atlanta. But he's part of the whole package, and the package wins. Let's see what surprises the Mets have this weekend. Can we hit Dickey? It should be interesting. Lou from Long Island
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Post by Allen Wiener on Jun 21, 2012 13:07:00 GMT -5
Well, the Mets just spent three days kicking the Os' butts, shuting them out for 27 consecutive innings. The Yanks finaly cooled off after winning 10 straight. So goes the long season; hot and cold streaks. Teams that win usually don't get too up or too down diring those streaks; they stay on a steady keel and keep focus. We have a long way to go, so enjoy the ride.
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Post by Paul Sylvain on Jun 24, 2012 20:41:14 GMT -5
So, now Youkilis is gone to the ChiSox, to be replaced by a couple of guys I never heard of before. It's amazing these guys can beat their way through a sheet of wet toilet paper. Youk has had his problems this year, and injuries have been a liability, but the guy has played hard and given a lot to this team. I can only think of the couple of crap years Ortiz had before redeeming himself last year and this year. What if the Red Sox had kicked him to the curb during his down years? I guess that's how I see this. It serves the BlowSox right if Youk comes to town with the White Sox and makes 'em pay dearly.
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Post by Allen Wiener on Jun 24, 2012 22:36:35 GMT -5
Right now, Youk has a better chance of seeing another World Series with the ChiSox than the DeadSox. It's a cruel sport; maybe the Sox think they are rebuilding or something, but they really just look like their management doesn't know what to do and is kind of running around in circles.
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Post by Paul Sylvain on Jun 25, 2012 17:51:18 GMT -5
I still believe that at season's end last year the time had come for Tito to move on. But in this case the "cure" (and I use that term with tongue firmly in cheek) was much worse than the ailment. Clearly there is no love for this "Valentine", and I can't imagine his being a long term relationship with the Red Sox.
Let's go Rangers! Most wins in both leagues.
Paul
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Post by loucapitano on Jun 26, 2012 16:44:11 GMT -5
The Youk trade really surprised me until I saw the void he is supposed to fill with the ChiSox . I'll tell you, he was a Yankee killer and we won't miss him in the AL East. Now the talk of NY Radio is: "Can the Yanks reach October with nothing but homers?" Everyone, including me says NO! In my book, small ball and pitching wins playoffs, with home run threats as an intimidator to the faint of heart. I think the Bombers can solve this problem by September once Gardner returns. What a slugfest playing the Rangers will be! Lou from Long Island PS: About Valentine - I hate to say, I told you so. I didn't because everyone else had already said it.
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Post by Paul Sylvain on Jun 27, 2012 5:32:37 GMT -5
Lou --
To answer your question about the Yankees making it through the season and playoff without an equal measure of "small ball," I'd say you were spot on. Just look at the Red Sox's recent history. For too any years, it seems, they relied more on long-ball heroics rather than small-ball basics. It kept them in the running, but eventually it caught up with them. A game's "left-on-base" usually is more telling about a team's inability to bring in runners who "died" in scoring position because someone couldn't get that key single or double. Being able to steal a base or successfully drop a bunt, or place a ball somewhere where a runner can move up, are key elements to manufacturing runs. Homers are exciting but .....
As far as the Yankees go, I love to hate them, Lou, but I'm not one of those guys who runs around yelling "Yankees Suck". Why? Because they don't "suck." The Yankees are consistent, year after year. Sure, they tend to start slow, even trailing the division some seasons. Then around June, they warm up and start their roll towards October. Look for them to truly hit their stride in July, fix what needs to be fixed, and go all the way being virtually unbeatable. That is the Yankees. I hate that they are so consistently good.
So, Lou, don't fret the lack of small ball mid-way in this season. The Yanks will be in the thick of it and most certainly will be hitting more than just homers in their march to October. I'd bank the farm (if I had one) on it.
Paul
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Post by Allen Wiener on Jun 27, 2012 9:10:11 GMT -5
I dunno; if this ain't the same old Yankee juggernaught they are doing a great imitation of it!
I agree with Paul; I love to hate the Yankees in the same way, but consistently marvel over their ability to triumph time and again, generation after generation, going back to the 1920s. It ain't just money, folks; there's just something about that organization. I recall Pee Wee Reese once saying that, although the Dodgers always wanted to clobber the Yanks in the Series, their players would actually act like fans walking past the Yankee clubhouse and would talk about all the superstars and sure Hall of Famers who were in there. It's an amazing thing. I don't think anyone ever "loves" the Yankees the way fans "love" the Mets or Red Sox, not even their fans, but they sure know who they are and what the team has acomplished.
As to small ball, you guys are right on the money. In he Orioles halcyon days, they talked all the tiem about how the fundamentals are drilled and drilled into every player, from the lowest minor league club to the majors. Brooks Robinson always made it look easy, but he had a coach slam grounders an everything else at him for one hour every day throughout his career. In spring training, the Orioles had a "small diamond" in their park, where players were drilled for hours on the basic fundamentals, so that they were second nature to every player and every player who came up from the minors knew exactly how things were done as soon as they arrived with the parent club. It was a remarkable organization that did not have big bucks but won its share of championships and maintained respect and the appreciation of its fans. Produced a few Hall of Famers, too.
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