Big Flavor’s 2012 National League All-Star Team
Since the Giants starting LU is set (the guys who should be starting are starting, the guys who should be on the bench are on the bench) I thought I’d break down this year’s NL All Star Team—at least the one that I would assemble. I’ll pick one position player, 7 starting pitchers and 3 closers. Defense isn’t factored into consideration for the position players. And all players picked have to be currently healthy and playing.
1st base: Joey Votto. I started off with an easy one. He’s probably the best all around hitter in either league. That 1.114 OPS ain’t too shabby either……
2nd base: Aaron Hill. For a weak position, I’ll take the guy who’s had 2 cycles this year. He’s got power and a little speed, he’s hitting .302 and his OPS is 80 points higher than any other qualified 2nd baseman. If *spectacular defense* was a category, my pick would be Brandon Phillips.
Shortstop: Jed Lowrie. He’s been slumping for the last month which makes his season all the more remarkable. He continues to lead all NL shortstops with 14 bombs and his .839 OPS is still 50+ points higher than the next guy. Plus he’s from The Farm and that alone qualifies him as an all star (to me).
3rd base: David Wright is a little too brittle for me to ever trust drafting on any of my fantasy teams but he’s hitting .359 and currently isn’t suffering from anything “owie” enough to send him to the DL.
For the OF category, I’m just going to pick 3 regardless of where they play in the OF:
There are a lot of outfielders having a good year and I’m glad Kemp is hurt since it’s makes it a little easier to add my 3rd guy. My #1 all star outfielder is Melky. He’s not blasting the ball out of the yard but he’s got a whopping 109 hits + 10 stolen bags. I’m also warming up to the Melk Men since they now have a stable of Melk Maids who are hot.
My #2 outfielder is Andrew McCutchen. He’s dominating in the middle of a shitty LU. That’s tough to do since you’d think opposing teams would walk him all day long. Maybe they’re worried about him stealing 2nd and with 14 swipes that’s a legit concern. But he’s hitting .344 and he’s got 15 bombs. If I was pitching to him I think I’d *free pass* him and hope for the best…..
My #3 outfielder could be a lot of guys. Car-Go is having an excellent season as is Ryan Braun, Michael Bourn continues to play over his head, too. But the third outfielder on my all star team is Bryce Harper. He’s an idiot and doesn’t have the stats of the other top guys but he’s a *stop everything you’re doing and watch his at bat* kind of player.
And now, for the national league catcher at Big Flavor’s All Star game, 2012. He can’t hit a lick and base runners steal on him seemingly at will but he’s straight money getting the ball back to the pitcher:
The Pitchers: For no reason in particular, I’m going to pick 7 starting pitchers and 3 closers. And they are in order of who I think has had the best year in terms of dominance and consistency.
#1: RA Dickey. I don’t get it but some things you don’t have to get. He’s 12-1 with a 0.88 WHIP and he’s thrown 2 one hitters (back to back). He’s having a dream season that he may or may no ever repeat again.
#2: Matt Cain. End of story.
#3: Stephen Strasberg. What are the Nationals going to do in September if they’re still in this thing? They are vowing to shut him down. That would be a sickening call to have to make if you’re management.
#4: AJ Burnett. He doesn’t have the dominant, eye popping numbers as the first 3 guys. But he’s 9-2 with a 3.31 ERA. That doesn’t sound to impressive until you check out his pitching line. This guy has been a rock all season long except for his May 2nd start against the Cards where he went 2.2 innings and gave up 12 earned runs. You take that horrific start out and his ERA on the year would be 2.05.
#5: Voggy. Backing it up in year 2, his story, his wife, all that stuff……..
#6: Mad Bum. To have 3 Giant starters in the top 6 is unreal.
#7: James McDonald. I like this guy just because the Dodgers trading him away for nothing (Octavio Dotel). He’s having quite a year with the Pirates. At 7-3, he’s got a 2.62 ERA and a WHIP of 0.98 and opponents are hitting .200 off of him. He’s dominating and the Dodgers can do nothing other than watch silently and get dominated by him when he pitches against them. Baha.
The Closers:
Kimbrel is head and shoulders above everyone. I would put Casilla #2. Clippard at #3. For both Casilla and Clippard to step in and do what they’ve done this year is more impressive to me than a guy like Hanrahan or Papelbon who have just held down a job all season. And I would probably put Jansen in for Clippard but I’m not in the mood to bestow any Dodgers with the an honor as great as being picked to Big Flavor’s All Star Team.
That’s it. Felt good to bang on the keyboard again……..
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
I agree. The Melk Maids are hot.
Yeah!
Weatherproof games: Angels at Blue Jays, Phillies at Marlins, Tigers at Rays, Diamondbacks at Brewers and Red Sox at Mariners. Starting in California, San Francisco will witness a cloudy weekend with temperatures in the high 60s. Clouds will also hover above Los Angeles, with the mercury stopping in the mid-70s. Blazing and sizzling are just a few of the adjectives in the forecast for Atlanta, St. Louis and Texas. Triple-digit heat awaits players in those locations. Elsewhere, expect temperatures in the 90s with the chance of thunderstorms throughout the next 48 hours in Baltimore, New York, Minnesota, Chicago and Colorado.
BTW, blade, NBC just fired Ann Curry on the Today Show and the scuttlebutt is Roker’s next. This may be your shot at network immortality!!
Great news about Curry (and I didn’t know she did the weather). I think she left because she was uncomfortable with the “fluff” pieces they had her doing. Happy to hear she is going to be doing real news again. Roker? Pfffffft! He couldn’t wear my jock.
Say, who’s this Big Flavor dude anyway? 😉
Like a frosty bottle of beer, nice to read your stuff again
I can finally agree with Spe on something.
Okay, well then, I take it back
1st base – Check.
2nd base – Check.
SS – I would take Castro for his offense and SBS, but yes, I know he day dreams when he plays defense. I have Lowrie on one of my FL teams and appreciate his skills, but he is very streaky and gets into ruts for long periods of time.
3rd base – Check.
OF – Matt Holiday is having a “quietly” good season. Beltran is doing well too. Cargo I wouldn’t select because he is the definitive Coors Field creation. Don’t believe me? Check out his splits, home and away . . . Not just this season, but every season since he has played there. Amazing how he compensates at home for his shitty road statistics. Same thing for that entire team, sans Cuddyer, who’s splits are fairly even. And no, he doesn’t deserve an All Star spot. Harper is ok, per the parameters that Flav stated, but I can list 5 other outfielders easily are more deserving of an All Star berth, including our own Pagan.
Pitchers – Agree with all the selections, but would add Gio Gonsales and Cole Hamels.
Closers – I would also add Chapman, despite his recent struggles. Regardless, his statistics outshine Kimbrel, albeit, barely.
No catcher? Posey obviously would be the popular choice in these parts, but Ruiz is having a helluva season, so I’d go with him.
Too funny Mac . . . You’re right, we would need one of those, unless the Umps decide to that job along with calling balls and strikes. Ha. Agree with Ruiz or Molina. Posey is not having as good a season as those two, but outstanding nevertheless.
*do
I like your choice of Hill, although Altuve also should get some mention. At SS, close call between Lowrie and Desmond, but since I could care less about OPS, I’m going with Desmond. McCutchen absolutely deserves it, and of course Melky, but I’d put Beltran in. That said, selecting Harper is an inspired pick since this is, after all, an exhilbition game that’s supposed to be for the fans.
Pitchers are a tough call. MadBum’s ERA is a tad high, but he’s behind only Cain and Dickey in IP. Gio, Miley and Cueto are three others who are tough to ignore. Ah screw it, this is a Giants blog, I’m with you on our Big 3. McDonald is also a very good choice. Hanrahan’s been excellent, I’ll take him over Clippard.
Altuve should definitely get *mention* especially from all the 5’7 guys who appreciate what he’s doing this year. But, I could only go with one, no honorable mentions on my team.
I figured the catcher at Big Flavor’s all star Game would just be one of those orange net back stop thingy’s from the ’70’s…..
Too funny. And yes, we had one of those growing up in the 70s.
McCutchen is my kind of OF. Dickey and Cain are my kind of pitchers.
BBOTD is my kind of woman. She can put her shoes under my bed any day. 🙂
I suppose you wouldn’t have a problem with her sticking her knee high black leather boots under the bed either, right Blade?
She can store her entire wardrobe in my home (as long as we are talking about the blue bikini gal presently on BBOTD). Marriage is out though . . . Been there, done that.
Hey Chuck, if you are still paying attention to your Flap team these days, then check out your ESPN email – I sent you a trade proposal. Hop, hop . . . let’s get with it my man.
And I agree with you (Blade) about Chapman, especially in terms of how dominant he’s been this year. I don’t think he allowed an earned run until the beginning of June. But since then, he’s been awful. And while I said I was only taking healthy non-DL players on my team, that also holds true for how they’ve been doing lately. So, while Chapman is a dominant closer, I’d still stick with the 3 I listed.
I have to admit I watched more of the Dodger game last night than the Giant game; watching the Dodgers get shutout again was sweet. Yeah, R.A. Dickey had it going on again. You can’t see the ball knuckle on TV much, but it’s sure been working. It just looks like he’s lobbing the ball straight in, but the batters flail away trying to make solid contact, which they don’t do very much, other than the Yankees in that inter-league game last Sunday night. Do we trust a knuckleballer to START the All-Star game for the NL, considering homefield advantage in the World Series rides on it? We have to be a bit concerned at the way the Yanks roughed him up. Still, he’s a remarkable story. Most knuckleballers lose more often than he does. Phil Niekro would usually have a record of 18-16 or something like that.
My imagination, or does Juan Uribe look like he’s put on weight? Even though he’s a Dodger, I feel kind of sorry for him. I can just imagine the roasting he’s getting from the L.A. media and the Dodger fans. Bochy used him masterfully in 2010, as infield super-sub, playing him everyday on his hot streaks, giving him some bench time when he went cold.
It’s a little complicated why I have one “e” at the end, or sometimes two “e”s. It has to do with whether I’m logged into WordPress or not, whether I’m using my MacBook, iPad, or iPhone, so….they’re both me, though.
Yes. He’s absolutely put on weight. And, if the extra weight is from coasting through his last big deal putting in less than 100% effort, then I wouldn’t feel too sorry for any roasting he’s getting.
OF: Melky, McCutcheon, Beltran
1B: Votto
2B: Hill
SS: Lowrie
3B: Wright
C: Ruiz
Starting pitchers: Strasburg, Greinke,Gio, Dickey, Miley, Cain, Cueto,Vogelsong,McDonald
Relievers( a terrible crop of closers, BTW): Kimbrel, Casilla,Hanrahan, Clippard- closers…Romo, Grilli set up
I went with 9 starting pitchers, 6 relievers- the number chosen last year. Tough leaving MadBum out, but just as it’s been a bad year for closers, it’s been a stellar year for starters. Madison deserves it- but so do the guys I picked.He’d be my #1 injury replacement)
Reserves: (note: no Car-Go-ever. Away from home he’s Nate.)
C: Posey, Molina
Infield: Goldschmidt, Altuve,Desmond,Panda ( snicker if you like but he’s second in OPS, second in wRC+,and second in OBP to Wright), Freese
OF: Braun, Holliday,Stanton, Pence
I think that’s 34. And I think 34 is the roster number- either way, close enough.
I’m assuming you mean Beltran. Surprised to see we agree on so many
And yet…so few
(brought to you by Jackie Collins)
I changed it now- I did mean Beltran.
Beltran, Betran, tomaatos, tomahtoes
Geez, Ted. You caught my “Betran” in seconds.
It was tough choosing Dickey, even with his awesome record. As far as I’m concerned, the knuckleball and it’s practitioners should be banned from baseball. And someone should check his “Girly Gimlet” ( the knuckleballer’s cocktail of choice) for PEDs..
Girly Gimlet. I *KNEW* it
GIANTS INJURY UPDATE:
C. Aubrey Smith=Minor league rehab stint next week
Freddy Sanchez= Breaking news just in…still dead
Has to a lot of good pitching this year for Romo to not make the All-Star team.
That’s not quite English but I agree with you 100%
As for myself, I prefer to speak genuine frontier gibberish.
Sorry, I think I went too fast. Please insert a ‘be’ between ‘to’ and ‘a’. BTW, should I have used single or double quote marks in the last sentence? I’m trying to “matriculate down the field here”!
He’s on mine- problem is the other deserving Giants. It can be argued convincingly that he’s better than Casilla but reviewing the closer crop, I think Casilla has to be chosen. There are 9 deserving Giants ( 5 pitchers, 4 position players) IMO. As it is, I picked 7 and they won’t get that many. I left off MadBum and Pagan, both of whom have the qualifications, and another 2 or 3 won’t make it. I consider Melky, Buster, Cain, and Casilla as locks. Of the others I picked, Panda has virtually no chance, Romo long shot, Vogie on the bubble and his spot could go to MadBum. It’s pretty cool having that many deserving players, though. Add in that Belt and Crawford ( yes, “Mario” is proving me wrong, happily so) are among the best young players at their positions and Theriot has been rock solid and Blanco among the top leadoff hitters- how the heck did we lose a game?
By the way, did Berger make POTD on his first post ever at the Flap? Is that a Flap record? Like hitting an HR first time up, like Will Clark?
Could be wrong, but I think Berger has been here before, quite awhile ago. He and I used to clash on the Splash but became blog friends Or: I am completely mistaken and obviously hung over from too many Girly Gimlets..
I’ve been here before. I got into a drunken argument over Jose Guillen a couple of years ago and got kicked off. Time heals, right? Hopefully. Anyway, this is a good blog. I commented to support Del. I enjoyed the other comments for the evening and stayed, so here I still sit. I think twinnie and I were the only Alex Smith fans for a while on unca’s blog. Commence, I’ll try to do less drinking and blogging in the future. No promises.
Seems to me we might have had a good knockdown on the Spash. You’re a coach, right? I think you commented on someone’s stance- might have been Ort-Rod. I said something like “Great, another Midget League coach” and the battle was on. Was that you?
Anyway, good to see you again, my friend…
I’m glad you came back and gave the Flap another shot. The only correction I would make is that you and Twin weren’t the only Smith fans, I started off last year, before the first game, staunchly in his corner.
Yes, Craig was one of the few..Chuck was sort of “we’ll see” at the beginning of the year, Irish was in Smith’s corner as I recall, that’s about it.
Flavor- You are correct. While unca was flip flopping, we were standing firm about Alex. LOL!
TF- I never coached but I did play a little A ball. I hit .463, but that’s probably because nobody was throwing change ups. The only guy I faced who threw me a change-up threw 3 of them and got me swinging on all three. Son-of-a-bitch.
Anyway, we were playing the Giants minor league team. They had a guy throwing 95. I roped him twice. Then they brought in the guy throwing 100. He was wild as heck. The first pitch was at my head and I hit the dirt. I roped the next pitch. Then they brought in some skinny little guy. He throws me three change-ups that bounced on the middle of the plate. Steerike one, steerike two, steerike three. Down goes Berger.
Needless to say, when I see somebody swinging through a change-up, I fully understand!
Blanco RF, Theriot 2B, Cabrera LF, Posey 1B, Pagan CF, Sandoval 3B, Sanchez C, Crawford SS, (Zito P)
Could get a little crowded behind the plate with two catchers!
Yeah, I copied and pasted that. Fixed..
Here’s the site with the earliest LUs
http://www.rotoinfo.com/?game=lineup
Thanks for the info. I think we all knew Posey was at first.
I know you did. I like being accurate is all.
Is number of innings a factor in Romo getting serious consideration? Maybe as a set up guy, you have to put up crazy numbers. Last yr, Venters made it as a set up guy, but had thrown 55 innings. Romo to date has 21.
It’s a good point that I hadn’t considered- Clippard wasn’t a closer last year, also made it a set up guy and pitched 51 innings before the break. It’s probably fair to say that Romo has been used more as a “Roogie” than a set up guy. Last year he had 48 innings for the whole year.
Last night I was telling Del this pitcher has a great swing. Next pitch, home run. Son of a bitch!
You discuss Alex with Del much?
Only when I want to laugh. He hates him with a passion, just like I hate Romo, who is his favorite player. We needle each other often on this one! I tell him he likes stats, I like wins. That goes over well! LOL
Dirrrty gets destroyed again. KC can’t keep running him out there. If Melky stays on this pace and Dirrrrty is finally taken out of the rotation (or put back on the DL) then this might go down as the most lopsided trade in history (or at least in the top 10 or 20).
Just got back from an early morning hike and lunch with a friend and saw your post Flav . . . Sheesh, I almost got taken in by ESPN rating Dirrrrty’s start chances outstanding today. Soooooooooo thankful my intuition kicked in and I didn’t add him to my FL team. As you said, this will definitely go down as one of the most lopsided trade’s in MLB history.
Also as you indicated, he will probably be taken out of the rotation because KC has prospects Jake Odorizzi and Mike Montgomery on the horizon and he could find himself in the bullpen soon if he doesn’t improve his command. Not likely with a 7.29 walks per nine innings, the highest total in the majors. Put a fork in him . . . He will be out of MLB by next year with the “act” he has now.
As lopsided as it is, it won’t be one of the worst unless we re-sign Melky. Then it indeed would be…
No doubt that Jonathan has now spun completely out control. Besides the pounding, he allowed a CATCHER to score from second when he failed to cover home on a dribbler that his catcher fielded.I feel badly for him and at this point have no idea why he went south so rapidly.
He’ll always be a Giant!
I get a kick out of the batter walking back to the dugout after a strikeout and taking that brief look back at the pitcher like “This ain’t over yet, dude.” You have to look back, to maintain your pride, but don’t stare too long because that would be showing up the pitcher, and would lead to possible escalating of the situation. The proper balance must be maintained. Take the look back, but not for too long.
True, and better not snicker..
Anyone else watching the game on mlb.com? I’m getting just the audio and I was wondering if anyone else has the same problem.
Watching it on the net.
Never mind, I’ve got it. Hey twin, I just threw the laptop up against the wall and that fixed it. Dang man, if I had known that fixing one of these here computer things was so easy, well I just might have gotten myself into the business.
That’s one of the tricks known only to the pros- until now.
Torture.
We might be seeing old Brad Penny get into the game today.
Like…now
Sheesh . . . speaking of Sanchez. Awwwwwwwwwwwrggghhh!
Jim Palmer used to say he would rather walk a guy in than give in to the hitter and have him hit a multi-run homer. Of course, BZ is no Palmer. also looks like ump starting to squeeze.
Fucking Zito. He has a base open so is careful and walks a guy, then goes walkabout for 2 more and walks a guy in. Fine line in his head between being in rhythm and out of rhythm…
Same shit we saw snarrk, huh? Quite fortunate to only allow one run.
Jon and Kruk could skip a meal IMO.
It’s that ballpark food.
Zito can’t find the strike zone …..again….again…
Fortunately, Krukow’s advice on pitching to Hanigan was not heeded. I don’t care if the 8 hitter is Brian Bocock, it’s better to walk in the run than give him a fat one with the pitcher on deck.IMO.
Bochy better have a quick hook ready for Zito. Looks like Latos will not allow much today…
Do you believe in magic?
Unfrickin’ believable. Zito’s guardian angel is apparently back from the restroom.
That was definitely a nice, nice development for Zito…
6 innings of 1 run ball. 100 pitches. short leash (shorter leash?) in seventh. seven inning would be outstanding frankly.
I think I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Latos has only allowed one hit and no runs.. That’s right, Latos has a one hit shut out going.
Gotta hand it to Zito. Only gave up one run on 6 walks, 1 intentional. He was on thin ice a coupla times, and skated over it. Giants need a damn home run to get back into it, it’s obviously going to be tough stringing together hits off of Latos…
Glad they made the pitching change. As ewisco said, Barry was “outstanding,” despite fans’ cardiologists being on standby for his entire pitching stint.
Bochy decided the luck was about to run out. Good decision, regardless of how the Pen does…
Yeah, at 99 pitches, Zito was through for the day. Including his last excellent quality start, that’s 2 in a row. By all measurements, he is having a very good year . . . thus far. 🙂
We needed Sam Spade to pitch to Cairo…
“When you get slapped you’ll take it and like it”
Here you go, Ted. Gotta luv Bogey…
http://tinyurl.com/2vbxuoy
Well, they brought up Penny for Loux, as I surmised they would. Wasn’t much of a tough prediction there. I was shocked, shocked how serendipity played such a big role, though. Penny was up against his contract deadline of up or out, and Loux suddenly developed a “neck strain” and onto the DL, as Boch so matter of factly said in today’s pre-game talk with Miller. Shucks, amazing how that worked out…
Looking over your shoulder towards Fresno will put a strain on the neck..
We could see these guys in the playoffs- never too early to start hurtin’ them..
This guy Latos hasn’t allowed a run. Nope, nada.
Makes me sick to my stomach losing to this smug fuck. Reminds me of losing to Hershisher.
I can’t stand the SOB either Tito . . . Stupid fuck always gives up 5 runs or more when I pick him up off the FL waiver wire. I have vowed never to have a Cincy starting pitcher on my team, especially when they are pitching at that frickin’ bandbox they call home. Pox on all of them.
Latos is really starting to piss me off. And why is he getting strikes called at the ankles and not us? Zito could pitch a 100 inning game if he was getting that call.
I am Latos Intolerant.
Good one. Grin.
Maybe in superhero world – the Melkman would be the arch-enemy of Latos.
Is this the same team that has been scoring 5 – 8 – 10 runs in recent games? Since June 10, 2 runs or more in every game until last night?
[sings] “get a hit, any hit, big hit, little hit, get a hit”
go Gigantes!
If Penny keeps pitching like that, Loux will get a souvenir Grizzlies neck collar…
Well OK. I think the guys were just waiting for Penny. I think they want to get the guy a win as a welcome on board kinda deal.
So Ed, get that run/hit counter out.
Doing a slow burn, thinking Belt should have been in for the entire game . . . grrrrr. As Twin has indicated in the past, either sit or play Posey at catcher. First base should be Brandon 24/7.
Big fucking pfffft
Well, at least they avoided the shutout thanks to Belt.
Giants pitching was fine, you hold the Reds to 2 runs, that’s pretty damn good.
Latos was just too much. I wouldn’t want to face the Reds in a one game play-in, that’s for sure.
Penny’s appearance leads to some optimism — if he can do that consistently, that’s a huge plus for the Pen…
hahahaha. Or you, snarkk
A “glass half full” guy would say “At least they weren’t shut out”
Where are you nipper?
With Kruk and Jon chowing down on those discount “after ball” game hot dogs. Much better than those ones that roast for days at your local 7-11. 🙂
It kind of gets my goat a little when I hear Kruk and especially Kuip on that post-game radio wrap and you can hear them chewing on something, as if your Uncle Stewie is talking to you while gumming a turkey leg. On the TV side, they do it off camera, though you can see them drinking a coke or something….
Yeah, like I said earlier, they could miss a meal or two. Especially Jon Miller, who I love as a broadcaster. He is definitely eating himself to an early grave.
I saw Jon once at a gate at SFO, sitting there waiting for a flight to NY, and by my overhearing, obviously talking to an ESPN producer about the upcoming game broadcast. He was quite rotund. You need to get a hold of him Blade, and get him going on a healthy diet…
Any self-destructive activity, drinking, drugs, women (hmm . . . strike that last one) is only mitigated or eliminated by the person participating in same. I would imagine his wife, 4 children and doctor have all told him the same thing. People only change when they are “sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
As I’ve noted before, his wife Janine worked for me in Napa as a waitress. They were just getting back together after a failed marriage each, as I recall. Janine had been his baby sitter when he was a child. You can bet she’s on him about his health..
maybe that’s what I got the other night, a big chicken shaped wienie..
Nothing to be particularly upset about with this one. Just even up the series tomorrow and it’s just about how it figured this would be except for Matt getting roughed up.
while i think we all suspected BZ would lose, I don’t think anyone had him at 6 innings, one run.
Giants 17-11 in June. Nice month…
Yeah, but it would be nice to start taking series from legit playoff teams. Don’t consider the Dodgers one.
Getting to the playoffs is all that matters, not how they get there.
Agree Twin . . . Besides, that’s untrue (Tito’s message above). They have taken series from the Pirates, Mets, LA, and Arizona – all teams with above .500 records and split with St. Louis, another .500 team.
St Louis – should have said, “above” .500 team.
Start thinking about that 2002 team: not just game 6, which has been beaten to death…but your favorite players, least favorites, memories, why it made us all alcoholics .. whatever you like..
Some teams don’t limp, they crawl into the WS- the 2006 Detroit Tigers went 36-38 after the break, and lost their division by being swept at home by the Royals on the last weekend. WS winner St. Louis Cardinals went 35-39 after the break…
Well, there is reason to expect that winning your division is now extremely important. It’s another reason why I was all for the extra WC team/1 game playoff. Let those two back door mates sort out their fate with a one game playoff. Again, wait till it happens, but that one game will be awesome. The first round of the playoffs has been lame for a while. This new structure is going to kick the playoffs into high gear……..
My next point: We just got done with two straight emotional series. That’s undeniable. It’s understandable that we are having a let down right now. Plus, CInn is a good ball club. But I feel like the *air* is out of our tires right now. It’s not that big of a deal and not an indication of anything……yet.
IMO the team is too good to worry about. I expect a rousing win tomorrow. Despite his flirtation with the no-hitter, Arroyo practically defines “career mediocrity”. He’s had some success at home against us, but he’s never won here and I don’t expect it to change. I predict 4 home runs by Belt, a no-hitter for Vogie, and a 3-way with Jaymee, Nicole, and ?
I could easily see them bouncing out of this funk tomorrow. A couple of games of sludgery and then re-start. And I’m with you on the Arroyo angle, few pitchers have similar starts the next game up……..
cody ross just made a leaping grab to rob Ichiro . Guy’s got a dozen HRs this year too, so mrs vogs hasn’t caused him too much grief.
My 70 yr old mentor for b-ball is in a fantasy league with some buddies and relatives, and had told me a while ago he had acquired the mariner’s pitcher charlie furbush who is going tonite. As he put it, “furbush is in the hole.” Last year he called his team, “Ball’s out.” I think he finished next to last, so this year he changed it to Oakland Oaks in honor of the first team he ever saw play in the old pacific coast league.
One of his messages to me when I was starting out 20 yrs ago was, “Have fun. If it’s not fun for you and the kids, then it’s no good.”
Cody’s a good ball player. We all knew Boston was a great fit for him but he’s hit well on the road as well. He took a big pay cut to sign with Red Sox. He’s giving them their 3 million worth.
flav, the weirdest thing just happened. I was on the last known schedule (posted here, it’s still up on the right widget) for today–I logged in late last night and got two acceptance emails from wordpress, accepted your invite, and then went here to the Flap after 11 PM last night. I saw the “New Post” set up, etc. and was thinking of a thread to put up.
when I went to the same email this morning, it would not accept the new password and name change I had put in (williedav). I tried for an hour to set this up, without success.
Just now when I tried to post the one above at 8:13, wordpress asked me for a password to match the email address I have–when I entered the one I gave them last night, the “new post” stuff shows up again just like last night, and it’s there now. Wtf?
just roll with it. They often have me check in with my email and password for no reason. It’s probably just a firewall thing…….
So today was Willie’s day? That’s rough, when is your next scheduled day, Willie ? If you have a post ready and want to take tomorrow, I’ll give it you and I’ll just do my post on “B”. If this is alright wth BF.
?
Well, I have to go to bed. I don’t understand the ? I was trying to help because Willie didn’t get to post. i sent an E-Mail, too. I had thought the idea was to communicate to keep things running smoothly. Anyway, goodnight. I’ll just do my Sunday as usual.
BLEEP wordpress!
GO WILLIE D!
Weird.