RyDogg66

yeah, I have to say RoCo, this isn't about hurting someone's feelings. Its about our closer having confidence that he doesnt need to be perfect all the time. Maybe now instead of trusting his stuff and throwing a nasty slider off the outside corner that is unhittable most times, he makes sure he gets a little more of the plate and someone smokes one off of him, because he thinks that if he walks him he might lose his closers job to Brian Shouse, or Chris Demaria or Wes Obermueller or some other career AAAA player for cripes sake. It was a bad move and Yost is lucky that Jenkins just bailed him out there.

So is Turnbow no longer our closer?? Because if he is, I can't for the life of me figure out why he wasn't "closing" that game out there. Wow, that move baffled me. That was the wrong move 100 times out of 100.

Hey, at least the Cubs matched us by allowing 5 to the Giants in the first.

What is up with the stealing? Is is Moeller or Hendrickson...or both? That was pathetic.

Jackson isnt ready. Eveland is. Bring him up, get Helling ready...it could be a long season for the 4/5 slots in the pitching staff. Hendrickson is pretty much Steve Woodard, without the small amount of major league success Woodard had.

Mike Cameron, Seal. Separated at birth?

Let me say that as the proud owner of a Rickie Weeks jersey shirt, that I LOVE this kids potential, but am very concerned by his inability to do much in the way of anything at all at the plate right now.

What is wrong with caps? Why are caps better than normal typing?

We should try Jenkins as a lead off hitter. If its the Ks we are worried about, it cant be worse than what Weeks does up there. Jenkins Hardy Fielder Lee Hall Weeks/Koskie Miller Clark

The Padres offense looks pathetic on paper. Of course, when they can score runs via walks and errors, it really doesnt matter.

eh - I like Jeff Cirillo, just not as someone who gets meaningful at bats. Having Corey Hart would be nice, but I honestly dont even know if Melvin/Yost are even considering him as a potential back up 1b.

Not a single fly ball yet for the Brewers. Derek Lowe isnt supposed to be this good. Remember when everyone at Brewerfan.net said he was a waste of money and time last off season?

This game could be over by 1130, or maybe even before the Mets/Braves game.

Jeff Kent is really unlikeable.

Where on DodgerBlues do they talk about baseball? IM having a hard time finding that section. Although I think the fact that their trade discussion forum is called "Pedro for Delino" is hilarious

I can't imagine any Brewer announcer, Uecker, JP, Sutton or Schroeder actually saying that Bill Hall will be in the Hall of Fame. The idea is so far-fetched that it seems completely unrealistic to say something like that. What happened most likely was that someone simply compared Hall's numbers this season or last to someone who is in the HoF, for some reason, and Astro fan took it and ran with it.

jamie, I most likely will also be enjoying club seats for this evenings game. section 325 maybe? Hmm, I cant remember as they were given to me and I dont have them on me. However, if I cant get my work done my 5 I wont be able to go at all.

Does this mean that we won't see Smoltz tomorrow night? I hope so, I'd much rather take my chances against hudson than Smoltzy. I'd guess tomorrow's matchup will be Sheeter v. Sosa

Good Change. I like Team Canada more.

Is it really the strikeout that produces the run, or is it the fact that the ball gets away from the catcher?

Hey Team Canada, what was you handle before you were Team Canada? I must have missed the change.

Dropped third strike? Come on people. It isnt the strike out that produces that chance to score on a dropped third strike it is the fact that the catcher or pitcher screwed up and let the ball get away from them. If you swing and miss and the ball goes to the screen so as to score the runner from third it isnt the K that scores him, it is the WP/Passed ball.

end - I still dont follow. How often are players going on contact? They certainly arent going on contact with the infield in. I dont think going on contact is that common. Perhaps going on contact if the ball is hit anywhere but directly at the 3b. It just doesnt happen very much. The player going on contact or whatever is just a mistake by that player or a bad call by the manager. If the ball is hit to anyone in the infield playing normal depth you should be able to score - except with the thirdbaseman. Maybe Im not following what you are saying. It seems to me that you are saying that if you have to make an out with a runner on third and less than two outs that the manner in which you make out doesnt matter. I am saying that with a runner on third and less than 2 outs that I'd rather put the ball in play than whiff, because the chances of an out driving the runner in are obviously greater than zero (which is what a k is) and I feel that the odds the runner on 3rd being out is very small. There are MANY MANY times in a game when a ball is hit to the middle infielders or medium to deep fly balls hit to the OF. Those score runs. strikeouts do not.

end - So now, to make it fit into your stike outs dont matter argument we have to assume that the runner at third base is taking ihs lead in fair territory AND he gets hit by a line drive? Come on. Or, we have to assume that Yost has called the go on contact play AND the ball is hit right at the third baseman? Really? And you really think that you'd STILL prefer the strikeout over the SLIM chance that our runner is standing in fair territory AND gets smoked by the linedrive? How often does that happen? How often are groundballs hit to the SS or 2b? Or flyballs to medium Right center? Sheesh.... Multiple Choice Question. Runner on Third Base. The Score is 3-1 we are losing. There is one out. In this hypothetical, the batter up to bat will make an out. How would you prefer he make that out. A) Strikeout B) Ball Put in Play somewhere C) It doesn't matter And as far as the Red Sox go, when you have a lineup like they have had the past two years it is easier to strike out with a runner on third and nobody out and be picked up by someone like Damon, Ortiz, Manny, Varitek, Nixon...etc, etc... In 2004 people complained a lot about hitting with RISP and everyone kept saying it would even out over the course of the year - and it didnt. In 2005 people complained a lot about hitting with RISP and everyone kept saying it would even out over the course of the year - and it didn't. Now, in 2006, we have played 12 games and it is the same thing. Nobody can even make contact with RISP - it looks to have gotten even worse than last year. Now, it may very well even out - heck, I EXPECT it too, but the last 340 games havent given me much confidence.

I think we are missing the original point. That strike outs do indeed matter. Sometimes, not as much as other times. For instance, when there is a runner on first and one out, a strikeout isn't that bad because a grounder could be an inning ending double play, but when runners are on 2nd and/or 3rd K's matter a lot. Obviously there a million "if only" arguments that can be made any game. That's not what I am talking about here. What I am saying, and what a few others are saying is that when you elimate the routine groundball double play as an option, the strikeout is a major problem. The routine groundball double play requires a force out somewhere on the field, when there isn't that force out potential the cost of the strikeout is much, much higher than the cost of a groundball or flyball. And even if you say "what about a groundball to the pitcher or a flyball to short left field" that's fine, then a strikeout is equal to those, but by putting the ball in play you have a great chance that it can be a groundball out to the 2b or a sac fly to center or even - GASP! - a hit!! Maybe people here dont put much stock into productive outs, I do, and I can't really think of a situation where a strike out produces anything but an out.