"Memo to commissioner Bud Selig, discipline czar Bob Watson and especially to major league players: It's time to knock off the punkish stuff in which every hit by pitch becomes a challenge to your manhood. One of the most dangerous eras in baseball history could become even more dangerous.
"It's getting out of hand," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "Every time somebody gets hit they think it's on purpose and they're going to retaliate...
After the game Saturday, Molina, a 12-year veteran, shook his head in disgust about the way the code of the game has deteriorated.
"That's what's wrong about it," Molina said when asked about how retaliation has become virtually automatic even for accidental hit-by-pitches. "The game has changed lately. If you hit somebody, even if it's not on purpose, they come back and hit somebody. You have to be professional, take the hit and go to first.
"Yeah, it's changed a lot. But you can do nothing about it. Just keep going"..."Baseball keeps letting this macho bunk go unchecked...
Every year, thanks to several rounds of expansion and control issues, about 1,000 more batters get hit today than got hit in 1959. That's 1,000 more opportunities to "prove your manhood" by hitting somebody else. On and on we go.
Actually, back in 2001, when guys were hit more often than they are today, I don't remember this vigilante nonsense going on, when every hit batter caused this kind of alarm. These are dangerous times. Bochy is right. The macho stuff is getting out of hand."
It looks like Tiger is "human" after all. I even thought to myself that why even play the last round Tiger has it in the bag. Y.E. Yang will crumble under the pressure of playing with Tiger in the last round as so many others have. Crumble he did not-Yang's eagle chip-in sealed it for him as Tiger couldn't make a putt and put himself with an easier birdie opportunity. Sports writers talk about did so and so lose or did so and so win-well I am going to say Tiger definitely lost this one-it was his to lose, leading by 2 in at the start of the final round. He made it difficult on himself by not making putts-this is still a great year for him and he has plenty of tournaments left to win. This just only delays him passing Jack Nicklaus' record for Majors.
Me before the Cardinals game last night "Why is LaRussa starting Ankiel over Rasmus who hit a walk-off homer yesterday-doesn't make sense since Ankiel hasn't given you anything on offense lately..." Well I stand corrected: "Manager Tony La Russa pored over career match-ups against knuckleball artists before constructing Monday's lineup but found nothing conclusive. A manager's instinct suggested one pivotal move: using Ankiel in center field over the recently scalding rookie, Colby Rasmus, who ended Sunday's win with a two-run home run against the San Diego Padres."
Well I thought Brett Farve was retired, but then turn on the radio today and guess who is back-Brett Farve. I am glad that he is playing because then we know FOR SURE that he is playing or at least made up his mind. I think it is kind of ridiculous all the back and forth-playing/retiring that has gone on since the end of last season. Farve should have made up his mind earlier because now how does Jackson and Rosenfels the QB's for the Vikings feel? I think it is definitely an upgrade at QB for the Vikings, but the Vikings (and Farve) let these guys feel like they were competing for starting QB jobs and now Farve is just handed the starting position....hmmmm, wonder what that locker room is going to be like.
ESPN College Game Day is coming to the Assembly Hall! All I have to say is-where was this 2 years ago...anyways it will be great for Illinois as they have a sensational freshman class coming in (Tyler Griffey, Brandon Paul, DJ Richardson, and Joseph Bertrand). The three guards look like they have a potential of being like a recent trio of Illinois guards...look for the Illini to contend for the Big 10 Championship and make it back to back trips to the NCAA tournament.
Looking back on my most recent post on Beaning in Baseball-2 players got dinged in the head this past weekend-David Wright by Matt Cain and Ian Kinsler by Fernando Cabrera. Now I don't think both of those pitches were intentional-they shouldn't have been. Just a case of players getting hit, but my question is why are they even throwing in that direction. I understand if a pitch "gets away" from the pitcher, but aren't these professionals? It is similiar to an NBA player NOT hitting the rim on a free-throw; it shouldn't happen, but it does. I hope Wright and Kinsler are ok-Kinsler comes back the next day to hit a HR against the Red Sox as the Rangers took the AL Wild Card lead.
That's all for now, I am out like Kevin Gregg as the Cubs closer (it is really hard to not let my Cardinal Bias out)...
It seems recently that there has been a barrage of batters being hit by pitches. Why-I don't know, but like anyone else I can speculate why:
1. It's Baseball and it happens 2. "Protocol" - you hit my teammate, one of yours is going down 3. If your killing my team well how does a pitch on your back feel 4. And maybe your trying to get hit (absurd as that sounds, Craig Biggio was THE master at getting hit with 285 times in his career)
Let's look at three such instances lately: 1. Prince Fielder has a day at the plate against the Dodgers, so the next night with the game essentially over and the Dodgers leading by forever, Guillermo Mota hits Fielder in the backside (furnished by all those Tofu Burgers) in the 8th inning-the 8th inning! So, Fielder looks at Mota takes his base and the game ends. Afterwords, Fielder goes to the Dodgers lockeroom to confront Mota, but was unsuccessful as teammates and security guards held/persuaded him to go back to the Brewers locker room.
2. It is a known fact this season that you do not pitch to Albert Pujols with the bases loaded-the man is 8-10 with 27 RBI's and 5 Grand Salamis. After hitting his 5th such grand slam of the year against the Mets the night before, Sir Albert is plunked in his backside. Albert brushes it off and takes his base. Later in the game, Cardinals Pitcher Brad Thompson unleashes one that is high and tight to Met's slugger David Wright who was able to get out of the way. Thompson was ejected because both sides had been warned after Pujols got hit. 3. Last night, in the 2nd inning of a game between the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox, Tiger's pitcher Rick Porcello hit Kevin Youkilis in his backside. Youkilis, after having been hit the previous night's game, charges the mound, throws his helmet (a no-no when charging the mound according to Baseball Tonight's John Kruk and Eric Young-besides what is Porcello going to throw his glove at Youkilis?), and attempts to tackle Porcello, but Porcello was the one who managed the takedown. Both benches cleared and not much else happened.
Let's see if we can relate these three instances to the reasons why batters get hit:
Case 1. There was ABSOLUTELY NO reason Mota should have hit Fielder in that situation-the only logical thing that could explain that is the pitch got away from Mota and his Fielder. My response to this is-why even throw inside-your winning by 20 and it's the 8th inning his run doesn't mean anything and so what if he killed your team the previous night. Last time I checked the Dodgers were still in first place and you have a 36-38 record with a 3.89 career ERA. No reason for it to happen-now Fielder's reaction was also uncalled for and he should have done the next game what he did before and killed the Dodgers at the plate. Both players got fined, but not suspended.
Case 2. I don't know why Pujols got hit-probably for the same reason Fielder did-Reason #3 on why batters get hit. Thompson was employing the "Protocol" or Reason #2-watching out for his teammate. It is an unwritten code in baseball that it is going to happen and it happens to any batter more times than not if a team's best player gets hit than the other teams best hitter better be ready. I understand why Thompson threw at Wright, just not the location-even his own Manager, Tony LaRussa said that. He was unhappy with Thompson about the location of the pitch. There is no need to even be throwing in that direction-your missing with life when you do that as Scott Rolen has been suffereing from concussion like symptoms since getting hit in the head by Jason Marquis (totally accidental). Thompson got a 3-game suspension for his pitch.
Case 3. Here are some of Youkilis' comments: “A lot of times guys pitch inside,” Youkilis said. “There’s times I get hit, but I think the last two days are different. I think there’s intent there to hit.” “Two days in a row and the way it was going, I had had enough of it,” Youkilis said. “At some point you have to protect yourself as a hitter, and for your teammates. I just felt like I had to do what I had to do.”
It was Youkilis 8th time getting hit this season only half of the AL Leader Kelly Shoppach of the Indians with 15. I understand the frustration over getting hit-it hurts and stings, but hey you get on base and the consequences are much worse than if you would just take your base. Plus, Youkilis realized the impact of his actions...“I definitely don’t like it being on TV for the kids out there. That’s not the way we should handle it.” Of course not-MLB players need to grow up in times like these becasue America's youth is out there watching this and emulating this on the playing fields. How about settling the issue where there are no TV cameras around and not making a big deal of it. Now, we do not know what the punishment will be for either side, but it will be harsh and will impact the Red Sox who are in the middle of a Wild-Card Race (pretty much hand the Yankees the Division) and will need Youkilis' bat and glove in the lineup.
Manager Ozzie Guillen of the White Sox has recently said after his White Sox Players were hit more times than this past weekends series than a piniata at an 8 yr old's birthday part, that all teams were put on notice and that his team would not take it anymore. I understand the your teammate for my teammate, that is just watching out for your teammate, the one you go to battle with for 162 games from April to October. BUT, it has gotten out of hand lately and players and managers need to remember that these players impact the Baseball Youth and they see this and don't understand why sometimes-they see it as that is cool what the Pro's do, so why not? How about every Major Leaguer read this article on Sportsmanship and at least get rid of that crap amongst all of the steroid allegation that is going on. Give some type of good example to America's youth besides cheating and beating each other up. Play the game the right way-take your base and punish the pitcher for making a mistake and help your team to victory.
As of August 11th here are the standings for the NL Central:
St. Louis Cardinals 63-51
Chicago Cubs 58-52 3 Games Back
Before their respective games tonight the teams have 48 (Cardinals) and 52 (Cubs) left. With that I am going to dissect the schedule, team statistics and other variables to determine a winner.
Before All-Star Break:
Cardinals: 49-42
Cubs: 43-43
Post All-Star Break
Cardinals:14-9
Cubs: 15-9
Post All-Star Break
Cardinals: 15-9
Cubs: 15-10
Last 10 games:
Cardinals: 8-2
Cubs: 4-6
1-Run Games:
Cardinals: 13-11
Cubs: 15-16
Home Record:
Cardinals: 32-23
Cubs: 33-19
Road Record:
Cardinals: 31-28
Cubs: 25-33
Run Differential:
Cardinals: +39
Cubs: +27
Runs P/Game:
Cardinals: 4.45
Cubs: 4.42
Batting Average:
Cardinals: .258
Cubs: .253
Pitching ERA:
Cardinals:3.75 (4th in NL)
Cubs:3.89
Batting Avg. Against
Cardinals: .261
Cubs: .248
Bullpen Holds:
Cardinals: 56
Cubs: 60
Fielding Percentage:
Cardinals: .983
Cubs: .982
Double Plays Turned:
Cardinals: 122 (1st in NL-The Cardinals pitching staff leads the Major Leagues in Ground Ball Outs)
Cubs: 101
Stolen Bases:
Cardinals: 49
Cubs: 40 (last in NL)
Now for some individual statistics:
The Cardinals have three pitchers with double digit wins:
Wainwright - 13 (tied for NL Lead)
Carpenter - 11
Pineiro - 10
The closest Cubs' starting pitcher with double digit wins is Ted Lilly with 9 - and he is on the DL.
Wainwright and Carpenter sport ERA's under 3 - 2.73 (6th in NL) and 2.26 (2nd in NL) respectively.
Ryan Franklin is 4th in the NL with 27 saves (NL Leader has 28) and Kevin Gregg has 22 and is 9th in the NL.
# of Batters batting over .300
Cardinals: 3 (Pujols .327, Holiday .459, Lugo .345 - granted Holiday and Lugo only have 16 and 14 games with the Redbirds)
Cubs: 2 (Ramirez .317 and Fox .301)
Now the Cardinals have HUGE batting advantage and that man is Albert Pujols:
4th in NL in Avg - .327
1st in HR's - 36 (tied with Mark Reynolds)
1st in OB % - .448, Slugging .681, OPS % 1.129, Total Bases 267, RBI's 100, Runs Scored 87, and Runs Created 118
2nd in Walks - 84
The Cubs only had one player, Derek Lee in the top 10 in any of those categories - HR with 23 (tied for 9th) and RBI's with 74 (10th).
To look at the remaining schedule:
The two teams play each other a total of 3 games IN St. Louis (September 18-20. After that the Cardinals only have 12 games left and the Cubs have 13 games left (both end up at home).
The Cardinals and Cubs have 15 of the last 48 and 52 games against opponents with winning records; Cardinals are 21-21 and the Cubs 19-30 against teams over .500; Cardinals are 42-30 and the Cubs are 39-22 against teams under .500
Home Games left:
Cardinals: 23
Cubs: 29
Road Games left:
Cardinals: 25
Cubs: 23
This benefits the Cubs who have been AWFUL on the road this year (see above).
The Cardinals play 6 games on the road against teams with winning records (Dodgers and Rockies); The Cubs have 11 games on the road against teams with winning records (Dodgers (4 games), Cardinals, and Giants (4 games)).
Cardinals’ record vs. teams to play: 41-29 (have not played San Diego)
Cubs’ record vs. teams to play: 45-36 (have not played New York)
Intangibles:
Injuries: Right now the Cubs have Ted Lilly and Carlos Zambrano on the DL-their two best pitchers (Randy Wells has pitched well for them). It has been speculated that Aramis Ramirez could be heading back to the DL with his nagging shoulder injury. The Cardinals do not have any MAJOR players on the DL except for Todd Wellemeyer and his role was up in the air before this recent incident.
Mr. Momentum: Since acquiring Mark DeRosa, Julio Lugo, and Matt Holliday the Cardinals have had a record of 22-15 and have given the team (most notably the offense) a major boost. Teams now have to deal with Holliday if they walk Pujols (which was a MAJOR problem pre-Holliday).
"So the Cardinals are back in the thick of another pennant race, and the team is getting hot — having won 12 of its last 15 games — to edge out to a three-game lead over second-place Chicago. And it also looks like La Russa has a fairly impressive horse to ride down this playoff stretch run. They are 12 games over .500 for the first time all season, and if you look at the schedule, you can see that the Redbirds are in the softest part of that 162-game season, with only three of their next 18 games against a team with a winning record."
So who wins the NL Central: It looks overwhelming for the Cardinals led by their aces Wainwright and Carpenter who can almost guarantee a win every game they pitch and the offense led by Pujols, who is having an MVP and triple-crown worthy season. Although both teams have relatively easy schedules left, though both have to go TO LA and face the Dodgers. If the Cardinals have not separated themselves by September 18 when the Cubs come to St. Louis, then that series could very well likely determine the NL Central Champion-it's the Cardinals for the taking.
All Stats came from ESPN.com, MLB.com, and BaseballReference.com
For all of Coach Schreder's ramblings and thoughts on the World of Sports including, but not limited to: St. Louis Cardinals, Fighting Illini Football and Basketball, IHSA Basketball, Golf, Fitness/Exercise and much more...
