MLB 2007 Season

[RadioWryn 0]

Meanwhile, the Braves are rolling merrily along, leading the Mets by half a game in the east. I'll take it.

[WAR EAGLE!!! 0]

Meanwhile, the Braves are rolling merrily along, leading the Mets by half a game in the east. I'll take it.

Blah...blah...blah...

They have played 5 games out of 27 against teams with a winning record...5. Anytime you have a schedule like that you can merrily roll along...hell...just ask Bama.

While this month, the braves have NYM, LAD, Pit, SD, and MIL. Let's see how they fare against some better teams before we start talking about another world series....er....I mean another blown post season...

[RadioWryn 0]

The Braves have had two series (vs CHC for 2, @ COL for 3) outside the division. The Braves have had 6 games versus the Mets (4-2) and 6 against the Phillies (5-1). Perhaps the reason the Phillies are sub-.500 is it's early and that record puts 'em 5 games in the hole.

But anyway, back to your point; the NL Central is better top-to-bottom than the NL East?

The strength of schedule argument is so dumb in baseball - there are 162 games, it evens out. But to try and make an argument that the Cubs (12-14) are better than the Braves (17-10) is absurd at this point.

[WAR EAGLE!!! 0]

Did you even read my post? Where did I say that the Cubs where better than the Braves? WHere in ANY of my posts, have I said the Cubs are better than anybody. You tried to imply that the Braves were, as usual, kicking ass and I merely pointed out that of the 27 games that they played, only 5 have been against a team with a winning record. And yes, it will even out...and yes...I know how many games are played this year. That is why I made the statement about the Braves schedule this month. You know...contrary to your belief, you are not the only person that follows or has any knowledge about the game of baseball on this board...

[AUJarhead 70]

But anyway, back to your point; the NL Central is better top-to-bottom than the NL East?

The past three NL Champs have been from the NL Central. Just sayin'.

[RadioWryn 0]

You know...contrary to your belief, you are not the only person that follows or has any knowledge about the game of baseball on this board...

Right you are. Jarhead knows his stuff.

[Jenny AU-92 0]

Hey, Jarhead, you should have heard the promo commercial for the upcoming Astros-Cards series - it was talking about how the skidding Astros are needing wins, just like the also skidding Cards... lots of mutual references to "righting the ship" and "getting some marks in the win column" and liberal use of the words "struggling" and "slump".

No kidding - have never heard such a negative promo before - makes me wonder if that was the one that was supposed to actually be aired, or someone in communicaitons airing some frustration? Not really conducive to making the fans tune in, you know? One bright spot - at least one of the two "struggling" teams is guaranteed to"pick up some Ws"...

I'd laugh if it weren't so pathetic. First week of May and I am already depressed as hell. The fans on local talk radio are already calling for Tim Purpura to walk the short plank for his inability to pull off a good deal for an impact player - Carlos Lee is not $100M worth - he went 3 for 4 Wednesday but was batting .170 in the previous TEN - count 'em - TEN games... Don't know if canning Purpura is the answer, but we suck BIG TIME right now.

Clemens to the Sox. Mark it down right here, right now. The Yankees are only marginally better than the Disastros. They suck.

[AUJarhead 70]

Great, Jenny. So, our teams are basically the Vandy and UK of the baseball world.

Good luck this weekend...

[AUJarhead 70]

I dont know if this has been mentioned, but, Jarhead, it looks like you were right about Marquis- He's 4-1 already.

He's really been pitching well. Good for him. He really struggled the last two years in STL with Molina/Bennett catching, and under Dave Duncan. How did he do in Atlanta before being traded for Drew? Kudos to the Cubs pitching coach, and Michael Barrett.

[abrnfanatc 6]

I dont know if this has been mentioned, but, Jarhead, it looks like you were right about Marquis- He's 4-1 already.

He's really been pitching well. Good for him. He really struggled the last two years in STL with Molina/Bennett catching, and under Dave Duncan. How did he do in Atlanta before being traded for Drew? Kudos to the Cubs pitching coach, and Michael Barrett.

Now that you mention it, Barrett has been a very pleasant surprise since he signed on a few years back. I never thought he would make it defensively, but he has made great strides in the last couple of years. His hitting has always been good, but he has hit better so far this year than in the past as well.

The scariest part is that I would put the Cubs lineup against anyone in the NL, but they have still found ways to lose 14 games already. If they ever get everything together, they could average 10 runs a game.

[AUJarhead 70]

I'm sad that Hancock was drunk, and than God that no one else was injured. Still very very sad story.

Yahoo Sports

Police: Cardinals' Hancock was drunk at time of fatal accident<

By BETSY TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer

May 4, 2007

St. Louis Cardinals baseball players from left, Anthony Reyes, Chris Duncan, Randy Flores and Aaron Miles join teammates, coaches and team officials as they listen to testimonials honoring teammate Josh Hancock at a memorial service for the late Cardinals pitcher at the First United Methodist Church, in Tupelo, Miss., Thursday, May 3, 2007. Hancock was killed in an auto accident, in St. Louis Sunday, April 29.

AP - May 3, 6:48 pm EDT

More Photos

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock was drunk at the time of his fatal accident, and marijuana was found in the sport utility vehicle he was driving.

Police Chief Joe Mokwa also said at a news conference Friday that the 29-year-old Hancock was speaking on a cell phone at about the time of the crash early Sunday on Interstate 64 in St. Louis.

"Mr. Hancock was legally intoxicated at the time of the accident," Mokwa said.

St. Louis medical examiner Michael Graham said Hancock's blood-alcohol level was 0.157, nearly twice Missouri's legal limit of 0.08.

Mokwa said 8.55 grams of marijuana and a glass pipe used to smoke marijuana were found in the rented Ford Explorer. Toxicology tests to determine if drugs were in his system had not been completed.

An accident reconstruction team determined Hancock was traveling 68 mph in a 55 mph zone when his SUV struck the back of a flatbed tow truck stopped in a driving lane. Mokwa said there was no evidence Hancock tried to stop. He did swerve, but too late to avoid the collision.

Graham said the pitcher died "within seconds" of head injuries. Hancock was not wearing a seat belt, but Graham said the belt would not have prevented his death.

Mokwa said cell phone records showed Hancock was speaking with a female acquaintance at about the time of the accident. Mokwa said the conversation ended abruptly, presumably when the accident occurred.

Hancock, a key bullpen member on the World Series championship team last season, was driving alone. The tow truck driver was not hurt.

Hancock, who pitched three innings of relief in last Saturday's 8-1 loss to the Cubs, left Busch Stadium around 6:30 p.m. and arrived about two hours later at Mike Shannon's, a restaurant and bar owned by the former Cardinals third baseman who now is a team broadcaster. Police said Hancock left Shannon's shortly after midnight.

At 12:34 a.m. Sunday, the tow truck came upon a disabled Geo Prism and stopped behind it with its yellow lights flashing to protect the car, Mokwa said. A few moments later, Hancock's SUV struck the rear of the tow truck.

"If you drink, don't drive," Mokwa said. "Use a taxi. Have a designated driver. Call a friend."

Graham said Hancock had severe chest injuries as well as the fatal head injuries.

"There's nothing at all that could have been done for him," Graham said.

An estimated 500 mourners turned out Thursday for a memorial service for Hancock in Tupelo, Miss., recalling the pitcher as a goodhearted prankster. Among the mourners were Hancock's teammates, coaches, manager Tony La Russa and general manager Walt Jocketty. Hancock was buried Wednesday in rural Itawamba County, Miss.

Hancock made his major league debut in September 2002 and played for four major league clubs. He went 3-3 with a 4.09 ERA in 62 regular-season appearances for the Cardinals last season, leading the bullpen in innings, and pitched in three postseason games.

He was 0-1 with a 3.55 ERA in eight games this season.

Hancock joined the Cardinals in spring training last season after Cincinnati released him for violating a weight clause in his contract. He also pitched for Boston and Philadelphia.

The Cardinals postponed a home game the day of the accident against Chicago and haven't won since. They were swept in a three-game series in Milwaukee and had a day off Thursday.

[AUJarhead 70]

Showers most of the night, Jenny, but they said they should get the game in tonight.

[abrnfanatc 6]

Woo hoo! Back to .500!!!

With one more against the Nattys and the Bockos coming to town starting on Tuesday, maybe they can get on the top side soon.

[WAR EAGLE!!! 0]

If we can sweep the Nats, and then take 2 of 3 from the next 2 series...my prediction rings true...

[mowegl 4]

If we can sweep the Nats, and then take 2 of 3 from the next 2 series...my prediction rings true...

thats a lot of ifs. judging by the cubs performance so far this year, thats unlikely.

[WAR EAGLE!!! 0]

If we can sweep the Nats, and then take 2 of 3 from the next 2 series...my prediction rings true...

thats a lot of ifs. judging by the cubs performance so far this year, thats unlikely.

Oh sorry...i was actually judging by what the Cubs have done the last 8 games...which is win 7 of them. During those games, Soriano has gotten hot, the bullpen is pitching good again, and Lee had hit doubles in 8 consecutive games all while leading the MLB with over a .420 average. But you are right, there are a lot of ifs...but none based on what you said. The biggest IF will be what kind of outing we have from Guzman today. The good thing is we don't get a quality start from the kid just brought up from AAA, we have a day off tomorrow before we play the Pirates and Philly...which again, by the way...i don't think is unreasonale to win the series against.

[WAR EAGLE!!! 0]

[SouthLink02 8]

Roger signing with the Yanks still doesn't promise them anything until their bullpen gets better

I say move Pavano to setup role.

[kickerman97 3]

I say move Pavano to setup role.

Or maybe not.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2862108

While the Yankees were completing an agreement with Roger Clemens this weekend, they were learning that Pavano could need elbow surgery that would sideline him for most if not all of the remainder of his four-year contract.

[abrnfanatc 6]

I know it's just the Nats, but it actually looks like the pieces are finally coming together. We shall know soon enough though.

[SouthLink02 8]

Geez...I knew he would be injury prone when he signed with the Yanks but goodness gracias....can he remotely stay healthy? At all?

[BigSammyK 171]

He's got the Mike Hampton disease.

[SouthLink02 8]

Anyone watching the Giants/Phillies game?

Phillies guy gets caught in a run-down and runs into the Giants SS while trying to avoid being tagged....must have run 2 feet onto the grass to run into him....and he GETS AWAY WITH IT and is told to go to 2nd for runners interference

The ump is right there....WOW....are they usually that stupid?

[AUJarhead 70]

WE and Fanatc, good sweep for you guys, good teams beat the ones they are supposed to. More bad luck for the Cards, Carp out for at least 3 months, and I think he's done for the season. Ah well, please bury the Pirates this week, I don't want to be in the basement anymore.

[BamaGrad03 0]

Meanwhile, the Braves are rolling merrily along, leading the Mets by half a game in the east. I'll take it.

Blah...blah...blah...

They have played 5 games out of 27 against teams with a winning record...5. Anytime you have a schedule like that you can merrily roll along...hell...just ask Bama.

While this month, the braves have NYM, LAD, Pit, SD, and MIL. Let's see how they fare against some better teams before we start talking about another world series....er....I mean another blown post season...

How could we have only have played 5 games against a team with a winning record when we are 4-2 against the Mets this year? Yeah we've take 2 season series against the team that is supposed to be the best in baseball.

Also, the Phils are only sub .500 because we beat them 5 times, to 1 loss. They are 14-17. The same thing could be said about the marlins (2 games under 500).

We just finished taking 2 of 3 from the 1st place Dodgers (18-13).

So you can go ahead and put that record against teams above .500 to 6-3.

We've played 9 games against teams above .500. The Cubbies? 10.