To Smoke or not to Smoke !

[MemphisMafia]

After watching the first half of this years extravaganza , hits , and wonders baseballs got a trend or two going in the right direction for all of us to pay attention too .

The wonderless WhiteSox are about to implode and several reasons are outright apparent , Alomars fading faster than a comet [ legs are not under him on his swing , leaning far to much ]
and Everets going to fail miserably in centerfield [ Scouts rank U.S. Cellular Field as one of if not the hardest places in the A.L. to play because of the swirling winds , height of the upper decks , and lack of contrast in the homeplate backdrop , and the angle of the sun during afternoon games ] Now if you factor in the lack of intensity by several players and couple that with the mangers ineptness and a sneeky feeling that thier staff will go down hard in the second half [ history repeats ] you have a " very poor " team to field if any ?

p.s. - watch them closely as thier lines will offer tons of shots !


The game today between Oakland and Baltimore offers a unnoticed and slight trend also , with Hudson on the mound one has to wonder why Foulke has blown only 4 save chances this year [ all with Tim on the mound ]


And one thing that stands out to me is this Dodger club that is last in every catagory offense wise [ trailing even the Tigers in homers ] , but after recent explosions [ bat wise ] and throw in the absolute " best " pitching staff in the game today - 2.82 ERA is on pace to excede the widest margin over the next club since 1900 , a plus 0.82 or nearly a full run better than the nearest club but even after all that prowess , they`ve been unable to gain control of the N.L. West. Expect " much " better from them because even with mediocre swings they would be killing thier division.

Are we having fun yet ?

Is it not strange that two Bluejays pitchers are leading the league in hits allowed and both are going in different directions , Halladays 143 compared to Lidles 137

Speaking of pitchers Jamie Moyers .682 winning percentage since 1996 is the best of " ALL " pitchers in baseball and hes finally a " All-Star " , give me a break.

p.s. hes on tonight ?

The Braves visit the Cubs today with Hampton on the mound [ rumors have it his hamstring is far worse than be admited ] and his recent outings are in line with that , look for the Cubs to prove they are legitimate contenders and break that 7 game streak today .

Brought to you from the " Famous Leaper Colony " on the sunny shores of Ragtown .

G.L. & G.B.

***MMM***

:cool: :cool: :cool:

[MemphisMafia]

what the doctor ordered

The Reds get a chance to come out of thier slump today at Beertown and I like thier chances , other look-likes ;

S.F.

Seattle

Fla. ***

Texas - again

Twins/ Angles - under

Pitt.

And my upset hopes of the day ;

Baltimore over Oak.

***MMM***

[bigjimt]

"You either smoke... or you get smoked."
-Sidney Dean, L.A. Playground Legend

[1-smrtblnd]

"You either smoke or get smoked and it's time to take a hit." Gotti, Heartland Wrestling Association.

[bigjimt]

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever, Billy Ho."

[GoldVike]

Memphis!

Nice calls....AND very astute observations.....Balt EVEN had a chance for the late upset again but I thought 3 in a row was a little much to ask on the road for them. I was with you on Pitt......D'Amico had absolutely owned them and Miller had been anything but stellar! Just about though! Keep those "obs" coming....there was some very good info there! BEST OF LUCK M&M! and let's see some more picks! GoldV

I still think Randall Simon's bat was corked and he only swung it because he was jealous of the size the the sausage!!

[MemphisMafia]

Thanks & Same too You

G.V.

This is time of year for the mid-season pulse checking and even though I see plenty to be optimistic about there just as many things to be wary of as well.

Sit back and Relax ;

Twins : the problem with the twins is in my opinion a lack of taking advantage of thier bullpen. Only 4 teams in the A.L. had fewer save chances in the 1st. half , LaTroy Hawkins , Johan Santana [ recently switched ] and closer Everyday Eddie Guardado remain thier backbone and J.C. Romero has been much less effective this year.

Dodgers : it`s not just Eric Gagne thats got the Dodgers where the are , Paul Shuey , Paul Quantrill , and Guillermo Mota all have lower E.R.A.`s than him who stands at 2.06 [ wow ] , thier bullpen stands at below 2.00 and thats a full run lower than thier nearest counterpart , couple that with thier rotation and I really like thier chances to survive three rounds of post-season play.

Phillies : in a word Jose Mesa is over worked , but the rest of the pen is standing tall , ranked only behind the Dodgers in E.R.A. in the N.L. Turk Wendell is excelling [ era`s right behind Gagne ]

Mariners : the injury to Kas Sasaki is leading to manager Pat Gillick to trade for help , Jeff Nelson and Arthur Rhodes throw to much even though they remain in the A.L.`s elite thanks in large part to the preformance of Shigetoshi Hasegawa , Nelsons E.R.A. jumped up to 7.71 in june [ look for trouble here ].

Oakland : only the A`s could trade a 44 game closer and improve thier bullpen , its not a accident that they gave up Billy Koch for Keith Foulke , they wore-out Koch in 84 games last year while Keith has regained his 2001 form and the are 1st. in the majors in a stat not everyone pays attention to , but is very important [ lowest percentage of inherited runners scoring ]

Tommorow its time to get out the Antacid ?

As usual these messages are brought to you from the " Leaper Colony " on the sunny shores of Ragtown !

***MMM***

:cool: :cool: :cool:

[MemphisMafia]

Talk about Heartburn

As we approach this All-Star game , the ole saying of " theres an awful lot of smoke here for there not to be some kind of fire " seems to fit several clubs at the break.

Royals : they added Curtis Leskanic recently , but it`s difficult to imagine this club staying in contention unless the pen improves significantly. They have the worst E.R.A. in the A.L. , lowest save percentage , and highest % of inherited scores . Adding Jose Lima has helped [ go figure ? ] and Jason Grimsley is a great set-up man , but the hinge pin here is did Mike MacDougal rebound or will he slump again ?

Astros : Billy Wagner , Octavio Dotel , Brad Lidge are the most formidable trio in the game , but they have been riden hard and put away wet to many times , only the sad-sack Rangers have pitched more relief innings and it would be no suprise here if they wore down soon .

Red Sox : what a mess , maybe Byung-Hyun Kim will help but one has to wonder how they can continue to rely on Brandon Lyon , Chad Fox , Alan Embree , Mike Timlin , and Casey Folssum ?

A change of pace here , the Marlins are not about to let go of Mike Lowell , they will dump Brad Penny , Luis Castillo , or Derrek Lee before that happens . And can Pedro Martinez go 14-1 the rest of the year to keep them in the hunt ? [ feeling here is no ].
If Shawn Green heats up , thats all the Dodgers will need to get over thier hump and watch this kid Rafael Soriano [ Mariners ] he could make the grade on a very good staff already.

O.K. Lets make a pick here today :

Dontrelle Willis gets to avenge his only loss today [ Marlins ]

The under in the Ari. / S.F. tilt today looks favorable

Seattle albeit a hugh lay will get the job done [ a parlay must ]

The Baltimore / Oakland game offers a great shot at the under also !

Brought to you by Leapin Lizards freshly released from the " Leaper Colony " by the bay near Ragtown .

***MMM***

[knowlez]

HERBIE WOULD LIKE TO START A FIRE. HE IS REALLY A GOOD GUY ALL TEN AND 1/2 INCHES OF HIM. ARRRRRRRRRRRR

[savage1]

Memphis,
As a diehard Red Sox fan for the last 51 years, I agree with your comment that bullpen is a mess.
Obviously their philosophy is built around trying to outslug the opposition so to speak, and for the most part they have been successful.
However, over the years as we all know many a Sox team with great pitching and so-so pitching has come up short in the long run.
At this point trading Damon or Nixon to get some bullpen help or a good starter would seem prudent.
What is interesting though is the latest trade rumor of trading Damon for Beltran, which would indicate to me if true that they are going with original philosophy of simply trying to score more runs than opposition.
I personally think they should opt for the pitching help, and you know what, if they get the starter and/or bullpen help they need, this team after 85 years of waiting has a good a chance as anyone of winning this thing.

[wayne1218]

First of all i have to say that the thoughts on the Red Sox are way off base because they have not had Fox pitch in 2 months and Fossum for a month so they are not depending on those guys at all and Lyon has 8 saves in 9 chances. The Bullpen is coming together with Kim and they need one thing...... A starter. The Beltran trade simply won't happen with K.C. in 1st place so forget about that. They will trade for a pitcher and probably give up Nixon or maybe Damon to get one with Sanchez a possible throw in as well.Bats are not a problem and neither is a closer as their leads all year have been blown BEFORE the 9th which will get help if Fossum comes back and is put in the pen. Burkett might be the odd man out if they pick up a Starter and they have been looking closely at Ponson as well.:D :D

[MemphisMafia]

savage 1

No doubt about your assessments being true and I agree that they " Speak softly " [ pitching ] and carry " Big Sticks " [ bats ] , but after watching them for many years like yourself , I really dont feel they can get thru a post-season battle with a more balanced team without bolstering that " ugly " pen that they now own.

Maybe they have something up the ole sleeve , yet to be seen but until they make a move in the pitching direction , not unlike thier Kim trade they will squander around the Mendoza Line for years to come. Thier farm system in chock-full of lumber and very few arms to be seen also so that alone leads me to arrive at my opinion. And in years gone past thier trades have left alot to be desired , maybe and lets hope that they do , maybe they are about to do something soon that will shock the nation in that area ?

a p.s. here also savage , I to have been a Sox fan for nearly 40 years as when I was groing up in Fla. they had no sports teams at all [ prehistoric times ] and I have always wished them the best !

Good Luck to you and our Red-Sox


***MMM***

[wayne1218]

The Red Sox have 2 VERY LIVE arms in AA Portland alone that you could see soon in Josh Stevens 9-4 3.17 ERA and Jorge De La Rosa 5-3 3.39 ERA with 83 K's in 79.2 innings pitched. Both guys will pitch in the AA All Star game so don't be surprised if you see them soon in Boston if no deal gets done. Their minor league pitching is not nearly as bad as it once was.

[savage1]

Lets all hope that "Chef" Theo and his assistants can concoct a recipe to give all of us a new delicious treat, one which will bring all from miles around to sample it,and will "allow" a banner to be hoisted in rafters at Fenway not seen since 1918 (Haley's Comet take notice).

[MemphisMafia]

" Way " off base ?

Originally posted by wayne1218
First of all i have to say that the thoughts on the Red Sox are way off base because they have not had Fox pitch in 2 months and Fossum for a month so they are not depending on those guys at all and Lyon has 8 saves in 9 chances. The Bullpen is coming together with Kim and they need one thing...... A starter. The Beltran trade simply won't happen with K.C. in 1st place so forget about that. They will trade for a pitcher and probably give up Nixon or maybe Damon to get one with Sanchez a possible throw in as well.Bats are not a problem and neither is a closer as their leads all year have been blown BEFORE the 9th which will get help if Fossum comes back and is put in the pen. Burkett might be the odd man out if they pick up a Starter and they have been looking closely at Ponson as well.:D :D

Wayne we have not chit chated since the days of 2.48 strike-outs a inning for 8 was called to quote " shitty " and since that day I have refrained from discussing baseball with you [ albeit you didnt make the statement , you did agree with it ] .

Now I know your a Sox fan and I too share that with you but I really have to go out on a limb here and say that rose colored glasses cant change the stripes on a tiger , now or ever !

We can both hope that some of your info comes to pass as explained , but the bare facts are they have after thier starters [ which by the way are not that good as eluded to by you ] one of the worst set-up to closer tandems in all of baseball , granted that Fox and Fossum have not pitched in sometime but as a Sox fan myself I am not going to throw a party when they do , I remember thier previous stints as pitchers and nothing they did impressed me to much then or I fear in the future.

My next statement of opinions will deal with all the numbers that led me to my conclusions and after that we will discuss this in more depth or what ever but trust me the numbers support my opinions , clearly .

As always it been a pleasure talking about baseball with fine minds in the know and look forward to more of such .


***MMM***



p.s. : Knowlez your remarks must pretain to the length of the hair growing out of your ears and I find them quite amusing being called herbie , first time I ever heard that ?