The 2011 Major & Minor League, College Baseball & Baseball Card Thread

[trainfan22]

Not happy about the outcome of this WS. :tdown:

 

 

The Rangers winning it would have better for baseball, and they have YET to win a WS.

 

 

Also as a Mets fan.... 2006 NLCS... :cry:

 

Oh well hopefully the Cubs and Brewers will off the Cards for a few seasons. As you may or may not know, Cubs got the same GM that ended Boston's 86 year WS drought.

[alejr88]

Wow, one of the best World Series ever watched. Congratulations to David Freese and the Cardinals.

 

@7linefan I think he was kidding.

[B35 via Church]

I would be twiddling my fingers in one hand, and biting them on the other hand in nervousness... then gettin up to pace back & forth when you let it marinate that David Freese was your WS MVP this year....

 

I didn't have to watch one second of this WS (that was enough of a b'day present to have this season END yesterday !!).... That is all the conclusion I need...

 

If Texas wants to win a WS, they're gonna have to do somethin about their relief pitching.... game 6 was an embarrassment; to have that many leads [5] & blow each & every one of them... including that lead they had in the 7th.... david freese of all people w/ 2 clutch hits in one game to save their season... my god....

t'hell with the yankees, the other two teams representing the AL this year (tampa, detroit) would have nailed that game 6 down.....

 

^^ A letdown like that, the cardinals had BETTER capitalized (especially w/ it being a home game for them) in game 7..... That would have said somethin about them, if they ended up losing under the overly favorable circumstances/momentum they had comin into last night.....

 

 

No doubt among the top few world series in my lifetime. I been following MLB since around 1982 and these are the best ws IMO.

 

1) 1991 Braves vs Twins

2) 1986 Red Sox vs Mets

3) 2001 Yanks vs D'backs

4) 2011 Cards vs Rangers

5) 1982 Cards vs Brewers

 

Honorable mention. 1993 Blue Jays vs Phillies

 

That is a travesty to have this year's WS right behind that CLASSIC back in 2001... and I'm sayin that as a Yankee fan, even though they lost that one.....

 

that blue jays one, where Carter hit that walkoff was a good one too, I agree....

[7LineFan]

@7linefan I think he was kidding.

 

I sure hope so

[Shortline Bus]

I would be twiddling my fingers in one hand, and biting them on the other hand in nervousness... then gettin up to pace back & forth when you let it marinate that David Freese was your WS MVP this year....

 

I didn't have to watch one second of this WS (that was enough of a b'day present to have this season END yesterday !!).... That is all the conclusion I need...

 

If Texas wants to win a WS, they're gonna have to do somethin about their relief pitching.... game 6 was an embarrassment; to have that many leads [5] & blow each & every one of them... including that lead they had in the 7th.... david freese of all people w/ 2 clutch hits in one game to save their season... my god....

t'hell with the yankees, the other two teams representing the AL this year (tampa, detroit) would have nailed that game 6 down.....

 

^^ A letdown like that, the cardinals had BETTER capitalized (especially w/ it being a home game for them) in game 7..... That would have said somethin about them, if they ended up losing under the overly favorable circumstances/momentum they had comin into last night....

 

 

I can't believe the hundreds of people i seen on sports/news websites saying Ron Washington 'blew the ws.' I agree bro(B35)the Texas Rangers bullpen is what choked them away the title in the series. To me, Felize and company had maybe the biggest choke since maybe Buckner/1986 Red Sox in a clinching ws game. I am surprised the media has not gone after the entire bullpen.

 

Still B35 you make great point that this is another proof of why Mariano now has to be considered one of the most important players in modern MLB history. If the Rangers had a 'descent' closer, they are wearing the ws rings instead of the Cards.

To me the 'choke' of the Texas bullpen is what made game #6 of this years series 'must see tv' and why classic championship sporting events will always be :eek:much better than reality show crap that on television.:cool:

[YankeesPwnMets]

That right there gets a :tdown: from me.

 

Pineda is like another Nova ya know

[Q43LTD]

The Holy Grail is in St Louis. I'm going to put this in perspective. The Texas Rangers faced the NL West Champion Giants and lost in 2010. In 2011, they faced the Wild Card champion Cardinals and lost. I guess in 2012, the Rangers will face an opponent from the NL East. The Rangers were one strike away from their first championship not once, but twice and their bullpen failed in both situations. Trust me, if this were March and you told me the St Louis Cardinals were going to win the WS, I'd have laughed at you. Now the offseason begins. Players like Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder are free agents. I wonder what will happen next? Didn't watch too much of the World Series, but I'm pretty sure people in the Dallas and St Louis markets enjoyed it

[7LineFan]

Pineda is like another Nova ya know

 

Then why bother? Sabathia, Hughes (when he's better) and Nova.

 

Any deal for King Felix means that we'd be taking a pretty big hit, one that I'm not so sure I would make.

[Shortline Bus]

Well great news for Bud Selig. After being on pace to become the lowest rated WS ever (at least in the US)the 'game 6 miracle' has boosted dramtically the ratings.

 

Game 7 of the 2011 world series was the most watched MLB game in America in almost a decade. This despite fact airing on one of the worst nights of the week. If this game was on a Sunday or even Tuesday Night, it might have gotten 16-17 rating. Here USA Today story.

 

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2011/10/world-series-game-7-tv-ratings-st-louis-cardinals-texas-rangers/1

[R68 Subway Car]

On the World Series, it was incredible to watch. Congrats to the Cardinals! You guys really deserved it.

[Shortline Bus]

On the World Series, it was incredible to watch. Congrats to the Cardinals! You guys really deserved it.

 

I guess it's time for hot stove baseball as we put a wrap to the 2011 season.

2011 even though my Yankees lost in the 1st round of the playoffs was one of the best seasons in my lifetime. What a year.:eek:

[Grand Concourse]

@shortline, don't send me a pm over ws ratings, I will read posts here. so fair warning, if the next one is going to be trivial, then i will just delete any pms from you.

 

As I stated about the ratings, had this been a sweep or a 5 game set, i stand by what i said about low ratings. The Cards were lucky Texas's pen sucked (and i do feel for darren oliver cuz that's one guy that really deserves to win one imo) that forced the game 7. Otoh, good for berkman, though i wished he was this good for the Yankees, he could've been a vast improvement over swisher in the line up.

 

@B35 on the 2001 WS, I had to admit that AZ was the superior team. Had it not been those 2 blown saves at the stadium, there wouldn't have been a game 7. But it was terrible seeing Mo give up a bloop hit due to an shifted INF to end it given how that year NY needed a big emotional lift. New orleans (super bowl) and Japan (women's soccer) got what they needed, why not us? That's why anyone that says, 'so and so needs the win to ease the pain at home' is full of it.

[7LineFan]

Tony La Russa is calling it a career. He's going out on top.

[B35 via Church]

Tony La Russa is calling it a career. He's going out on top.

More players & coaches should resort to this when they get up there in age....

 

 

....Game 7 of the 2011 world series was the most watched MLB game in America in almost a decade. This despite fact airing on one of the worst nights of the week. If this game was on a Sunday or even Tuesday Night, it might have gotten 16-17 rating.

 

just goes to show you that there's no real good programming on TV anymore... Surely no one expected the same dramatics from that game 6, in game 7....

 

friday night playoff baseball... makes ya wanna run to ya seats, doesn't it....

lol.... to a world series game 7 game w/ these 2 teams nonetheless.....

 

 

As I stated about the ratings, had this been a sweep or a 5 game set, i stand by what i said about low ratings. The Cards were lucky Texas's pen sucked (and i do feel for darren oliver cuz that's one guy that really deserves to win one imo) that forced the game 7. Otoh, good for berkman, though i wished he was this good for the Yankees, he could've been a vast improvement over swisher in the line up.

 

@B35 on the 2001 WS, I had to admit that AZ was the superior team. Had it not been those 2 blown saves at the stadium, there wouldn't have been a game 7. But it was terrible seeing Mo give up a bloop hit due to an shifted INF to end it given how that year NY needed a big emotional lift. New orleans (super bowl) and Japan (women's soccer) got what they needed, why not us? That's why anyone that says, 'so and so needs the win to ease the pain at home' is full of it.

 

randy johnson & curt schilling was the best 1-2 punch in baseball you could ever hope for (that's including this year's phillies w/ halladay & cliff lee).... offensively, that team was just as loaded as the '01 yanks were also.....

 

but yeh, when (luis) gonzalez hit that blooper w/ the bases loaded... I just sat there w/ a "you've got to be f'n kiddin me" look on my face.... I was actually expecting a grand slam, as that was that year he hit 50 HR's, IINM...

[Q43LTD]

Tony La Russa is calling it a career. He's going out on top.

Jack McKeon should've done this in 2003

[GojiMet86]

Tony La Russa is calling it a career. He's going out on top.

 

Tony La Russa leaves a bit of a mixed legacy behind, at least to game strategy. He was pretty much the first one to use specialized relievers for different innings, and was the first one to use the closer. However, that has led to the demise of the complete game, although it has seen a resurrection of sorts.

 

La Russa won three World Series (one with the A's and two with the Cardinals). He is also third in all time managerial wins (2,728), behind John McGraw (2,763) and Connie Mack (3,731).

 

Have a happy retirement.

[Shortline Bus]

I agree with B35. Never say never with La Russa but i don't picture him coming back for 2-3 more skipper tour of dutys, such as Jack McKeon and coaching well into his '70's.

 

For the next Cards skipper, I think these 2 guys would be a very good replacement. One is Franconia (my choice)and the other is Mike Scocia.

 

And my last point on TV/World Series ratings. Despite Bud Selig not promoting a playoff team not named Yanks or Red Sox, it should be a lesson to him and his TV partners why 'promotion' is so important. This June NBA Finals featuring Dallas vs Miami which are large markets (not exactly NY, LA or Chicago)was among the most watched NBA Championship ever. Matter of fact I reading somewhere it was 2nd or 3rd right after the 1998 NBA Finals in Jordan's last game with the Bulls.

 

Some critics was saying the game 7 Cards-Rangers should be higher. However the viewership tripled from a low rated game #3 to the finale. So i think MLB deserves a break on that one.

[Q43LTD]

I agree with B35. Never say never with La Russa but i don't picture him coming back for 2-3 more skipper tour of dutys, such as Jack McKeon and coaching well into his '70's.

 

For the next Cards skipper, I think these 2 guys would be a very good replacement. One is Franconia (my choice)and the other is Mike Scocia.

 

And my last point on TV/World Series ratings. Despite Bud Selig not promoting a playoff team not named Yanks or Red Sox, it should be a lesson to him and his TV partners why 'promotion' is so important. This June NBA Finals featuring Dallas vs Miami which are large markets (not exactly NY, LA or Chicago)was among the most watched NBA Championship ever. Matter of fact I reading somewhere it was 2nd or 3rd right after the 1998 NBA Finals in Jordan's last game with the Bulls.

 

Some critics was saying the game 7 Cards-Rangers should be higher. However the viewership tripled from a low rated game #3 to the finale. So i think MLB deserves a break on that one.

I think Francona will end up with the Cubs.

[GojiMet86]

C.C. Sabathia may be about 36 when he ends his time as a Yankee. The southpaw and the Yankees agreed to an extension:

 

CC agrees to contract extension with Yankees

 

Left-hander poised to remain in pinstripes through 2017 season

 

By Cash Kruth / MLB.com | 10/31/11 8:16 PM ET

 

CC Sabathia will remain in New York, the Yankees left-hander announced Monday evening on his Twitter account.

 

Sabathia and the Yankees have agreed to a one-year, $25 million contract extension that includes a $5 million buyout, according to ESPN's Buster Olney. His current contract now runs through 2016 with $122 million guaranteed. There also is a $25 million option for 2017.

 

"Yankee fans, I'll be here fighting for number 28 next year," Sabathia posted on his personal Twitter feed, referring to the club's quest for its 28th World Series title.

 

 

Sabathia, 31, could have opted out of his contract, which would have allowed him to become a free agent. Instead, he returns to New York, where he has gone 59-23 with a 3.18 ERA.

 

"Happy Halloween, everybody," Sabathia posted in a video posted on Twitter. "I just wanted to be the first to let Yankees fans know that we agreed to a contract extension. I'll be coming back in 2012. I want to thank the Steinbrenner family for making that happen. My goal the whole time was to be able to finish my career as a Yankee. Hopefully, I can do that. We seem like we got that accomplished today, so I look forward to seeing everybody out at the ballpark next year."

 

For his career, Sabathia has 176 wins and a 3.51 ERA over 11 seasons with the Indians, Brewers and Yankees. He is a five-time All-Star and won the Cy Young Award in 2007.

 

Cash Kruth is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter at @cashkruth. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

 

 

David Wright may hit a few more homers next season:

 

Mets moving in portions of Citi Field's walls

 

Changes will add 140 seats; club also lowering left-field fence

 

By Anthony DiComo / MLB.com | 10/31/11 4:35 PM ET

 

NEW YORK -- Late this summer, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson came to the definitive conclusion that Citi Field's outfield dimensions were unfair to hitters.

 

"You just kept looking at that thing, and that left-field wall kept getting higher and higher," Alderson said.

 

So he did something about it. The Mets on Monday announced drastic plans to alter Citi Field's dimensions, lowering some walls, moving in others and painting the entire outfield fence blue.

 

 

The new layout will add roughly 140 seats to Citi's capacity and undoubtedly result in more home runs and a more neutral playing environment.

 

"You don't want the ballpark to be a distraction," Alderson said. "And I really do believe a ballpark like ours has a more dramatic impact on the home team than on the visitors."

 

From left to right, the first change will take place where the old left-field wall reaches its apex of 16 feet. The Mets plan to construct an eight-foot wall in front of the permanent 16-foot one, angling it toward center field to create a wedge-like shape. In the space between the walls, the team will construct approximately 100 new seats, including traditional seats and bar stools.

 

The wall will not change in straightaway center field save for its new color, before angling again to cut off the old 415-foot gap in right-center. The new gap will stand 398 feet from home plate, resulting in a patch of empty space between it and the existing wall.

 

From there, the fence will follow its old course until it reaches the "Mo Zone," where a new wall will cut off the existing irregularity. That will allow the Mets to expand their popular Modell's Clubhouse group seating area to include roughly 40 additional outdoor seats in prime home run territory. Despite declining attendance, the Mets sold out that area last season and have sold 99.5 percent of Modell's Clubhouse seats since the park's opening in 2009.

 

In sum, the new dimensions will reduce Citi Field's overall playing surface by slightly less than two percent. According to the Mets' projections, that layout would have resulted in 151 more home runs over the past three seasons -- 81 more for the Mets and 70 more for their opponents.

 

"We didn't want to completely alter the ballpark and make it a proverbial bandbox," Alderson said. "That required looking at various dimensions and coming up with something that, based on home run rates and park factors and so forth, was more or less neutral as between pitching and hitting."

 

There was no exact science to those measurements, because there was no precise way to discern how much of Citi Field's home run stinginess had been due to its dimensions and how much to the composition of the home team. But the Mets believe they came close in their estimations, studying the home run rates of the Mets and their opponents, as well as overall park factors and scatter plots of every fly ball hit at Citi.

 

To a small extent, Alderson also conferred with players, holding a clubhouse meeting to discuss the changes last month in St. Louis. The new dimensions figure to most benefit right-handed power hitters -- particularly David Wright and Jason Bay, who have seen drastic drops in their power production over the past two seasons.

 

Averaging 18 home runs per year since Citi Field opened in 2009, Wright hit 29 per season playing his home games at Shea Stadium from 2005-08. Bay also experienced a significant decline in power after signing with the Mets as a free agent, averaging nine home runs per year after hitting a career-high 36 with the Red Sox in '09.

 

For both players, much of that dip was due to injuries -- both nagging and acute. But Wright and Bay recently admitted that some of it may have been due to subtle, even unconscious adjustments given their home park's dimensions.

 

Citi Field ranked third-to-last in the Majors last season with 1.33 home runs per game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

 

"I think the word 'fair' really applies here," Bay said Monday in a text message. "It's no secret it was a big ballpark and still is by a lot of comparisons. But in theory it should help the hitters and the defense, which indirectly helps the pitching staff. And we should benefit slightly more given that we play 81 games there."

 

As Bay noted, the Mets believe the new layout will alter defensive positioning enough that it will not hurt their pitching staff to any great extent.

 

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the new dimensions could potentially hurt free-agent shortstop Jose Reyes, who hit 12 of his 16 triples at home last season -- many of them into Citi's once-expansive right-center-field gap. Though the Mets remain unsure if Reyes will return next season, they did factor him into their calculations.

 

But in the end, the promise of more home runs was enough to sway Alderson, who believes that offense sells tickets more effectively than pitching.

 

"I don't want to give you the impression that we've done this for David or we've done this for Ike [Davis] or we've done this for anyone in particular," Alderson said. "It's really about having a more neutral ballpark."

 

It is also about having a more fan-friendly ballpark. Due in large part to fan feedback over the last three seasons, the Mets will paint the new wall blue instead of black. The orange home run line will remain, as will the black metal railing atop the left-field wall.

 

Construction on the new walls could begin as soon as mid-November and take six to eight weeks, though the team may wait until springtime due to weather concerns. Opting not to disclose the project's cost, the Mets did say that it fits into the surplus of the ballpark's original $800 million budget.

 

"We're trying to fit into the more 'normal,'" Mets COO Jeff Wilpon said of the new dimensions. "But if it's a little bit above that or a little bit below, we think we've got a big enough sweet spot that it's not going to matter."

 

Anthony DiComo is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @AnthonyDicomo. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

 

Around the league:

 

1) The Cleveland Indians acquired RHP Derek Lowe from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for minor league LHP Chris Jones.

2) The Cleveland Indians also decline CF Grady Sizemore's option, making him a free agent. RHP Fausto Carmone will stay with the Indians.

3) The Cinncinati Reds pick up 2B Brandon Phillips' 2012 option and decline RHP Francisco Cordero's option. Possible closer for the Mets?

4) The Kansas City Royals keep RHP Joakim Soria.

5) The Tampa Bay Rays keep RHP James Shields and RHP Kyle Farnsworth and decline C Kelly Shoppach's option.

[YankeesPwnMets]

Too long for comfort. I hope the Yanks have a term in that contract where if his weight wasn't lowered, then the contract is automatically voided.

 

Also, we are one more starting pitcher away from #28. Edwin Jackson, Mark Burhele, Wilson and Darvish might be good choices, but my mind is gunned straight at King Felix, unless the Yanks pull off a trade for Matt Cain

[Shortline Bus]

Too long for comfort. I hope the Yanks have a term in that contract where if his weight wasn't lowered, then the contract is automatically voided.

 

Also, we are one more starting pitcher away from #28. Edwin Jackson, Mark Burhele, Wilson and Darvish might be good choices, but my mind is gunned straight at King Felix, unless the Yanks pull off a trade for Matt Cain

 

 

Then the MLBPA will scream bloody murder and sue the Yankees if a clause like weight is put in the contract.:eek:

[Grand Concourse]

Too long for comfort. I hope the Yanks have a term in that contract where if his weight wasn't lowered, then the contract is automatically voided.

 

Also, we are one more starting pitcher away from #28. Edwin Jackson, Mark Burhele, Wilson and Darvish might be good choices, but my mind is gunned straight at King Felix, unless the Yanks pull off a trade for Matt Cain

 

As I've said before: there's no way Seattle will let him go without some really top level prospects. If the price was too high for Lee, a rental, imagine the price for King Felix and a much younger pitcher for keeps? The only way to get him is from free agency and even that's not even a definite.

 

I think landing Wilson is the best bet right now.

 

As much as I don't think they need another bat, [but given how terrible Swisher, Texiera, and Arod did], Prince Fielder or Pujlos is needed. Offense is too inconsistant.