2009 MLB Thread

[scratchbomb]

Hearing people slightly disappointed with trading for a reigning Cy Young winning pitcher is odd. Having a really good baseball team with lofty expectations takes some getting used to, I guess.

I'm also interested in seeing how the back of the rotation will play out with Happ/Moyer/Martinez/Lopez.

Any Phils fan that is disappointed with this deal needs to have his or her head examined. The Phillies got the reigning AL Cy Young award winner without giving up their blue chip prospects (save for Jason Knapp). Cliff Lee is only a slight step down from Roy Halladay in terms of pure ability. Moreover, he's a left-hander and a full year younger than Halladay. And you can probably shave .50 points off his ERA with him being in the NL. This was a masterful trade by Ruben Amaro Jr. It irritates me to no end as a Mets fan, but I have to give the Phils credit for this deal.

On a side note, it must be nice to root for a really good baseball team with lofty expectations.

Oh well, at least I still have the Penguins and Steelers.

The only thing "bad" about it is that it makes their rotation kinda lefty heavy. But when all those lefties are pretty good, it's a fair trade off.

I don't know much about Cliff Lee's peripherals, though. Just wonder how he'll fare in a park where every other fly ball plops into the front row of the bleachers.

[jbissell]

Didn't expect the Cardinals to sweep the Dodgers. Boo.

[hugman]

Didn't expect the Cardinals to sweep the Dodgers. Boo.

It's a four-game series.

Also, the Cards own the Dodgers at Busch.

[Stan]

 Shame on you Kevin Burkhardt for ignoring Louis CK while talking to Chris Rock at Citi Field in the fourth inning today.

[jbissell]

Didn't expect the Cardinals to sweep the Dodgers. Boo.

It's a four-game series.

Also, the Cards own the Dodgers at Busch.

So I see.  Apparently Billingsley has suddenly forgotten how to pitch.

[nec13]

Is anyone surprised at this development? I'm certainly not.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4366335

[yesno]

Nope.

[jbissell]

Super excited for the John Grabow era!

[nec13]

All is well tonight in Cubbieland. This was a franchise altering trade to be sure.

Cubs>>>>>>>>>>>>Cardinals

[jbissell]

To be fair, I certainly wasn't expecting anything other than adding a new lefty to the pen.  With how bad Soriano and Bradley have been, if they can turn it around these last two months it'll be better than a trade.  Same with getting Ramirez back, hopefully Soto starts hitting when he gets healthy.

[nec13]

John Grabow will be a good addition to the Cubs bullpen. He's not great against lefties, but he is pretty effective against righthanders. I'm not sure why they traded Gorzo. I still think he has some upside. Or he just may be one of those proverbial AAAA pitchers. I dunno.

What do you think of what the Cubs gave up? On first glance, it doesn't seem like too bad a return for the Pirates. Of course, people here are pissed off about this rash of deals.

[jbissell]

John Grabow will be a good addition to the Cubs bullpen. He's not great against lefties, but he is pretty effective against righthanders. I'm not sure why they traded Gorzo. I still think he has some upside. Or he just may be one of those proverbial AAAA pitchers. I dunno.

What do you think of what the Cubs gave up? On first glance, it doesn't seem like too bad a return for the Pirates. Of course, people here are pissed off about this rash of deals.

Grabow is fine, but not really anyone to get too excited about (pretty much the same reaction I had to the other lefties they were rumored to be interested in, like Beimel).  Gorzelanny could be a guy that just needs a change of scenery but I think you're probably right about the AAAA.  I wouldn't really expect him to join the rotation anyways.  I just wish there was a way to get rid of Heilman.  I'm also hoping that BJ Ryan has something left in the tank, though his performance in Toronto suggests otherwise.  He was worth the flier though, since they're just paying him the prorated minimum.

Hart has pretty much been a fringe pen guy until Lilly went down.  He's been pretty good in his couple starts but they've given him a lot of run support. Ascenio has a good power arm but seems to have trouble throwing strikes consistently.  Not familiar with the 3rd guy.

[chrisfoll577]

Is anyone surprised at this development? I'm certainly not.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4366335

As a Red Sox fan, I'm not surprised in the least.  I think every reasonable fan around here knew it deep down... and no, even though I'm disappointed, this doesn't taint or tarnish the World Series wins for me at all.

[yesno]

I agree with Bill James on the whole issue.

http://www.actapublications.com/images/small/PressReleases/Cooperstownandthe%27Roids_F2.pdf

[nec13]

You know, we all laughed at Jose Canseco, but it turns out he has been 100% correct on this issue. Practically everyone in the damn sport was juicing.

The integrity of the sport has been damaged irreparably. Statistical records have now become essentially meaningless, in a sport where records are sacred. Every single accomplishment by an individual player will forever be under suspicion. Even the players that are/were clean, if we can assume such a thing, are tarnished. However, I suspect that most people just don't care anymore. People still go to baseball games in droves and revenues for the sport have never been higher. Ultimately, it seems that people will continue to watch baseball regardless of what happens.

I know there are legal repercussions, but I wish they would just release the rest of the names on the 2003 list. This slow leak of information is torturous for both the players and the fans. It only further sullies a sport that has been tarnished enough.