Baseball Season right around the corner

[sq764]

Eagles are in the Superbowl and all I can think about is that pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in a month!!

Although I thoroughly enjoy the Phillies fizzling out of the playoff picture in Mid-September and enjoy watching each game that leads to that point, can we just skip over the season and get to the ALCS??

All Iwant to see is The Big Unit against Schilling in game 1.. What more can one ask for??

[OTM Al]

I'm right with you there. Pitchers and catchers report means the winter is nearing an end and the greatest American sport is ready to start a new season. We'll see if Schilling can keep up his dominance or will the Yanks start a new curse. What the Mets are going to look like this year...lot of cash for a 4th place finish or a run at the top spot. Cubs have one of the best lines to win it all this year! Can't wait

[sq764]

Haha, nice pot shot with the 4th place finish comment :-)

I just want the damn Phillies to get into the playoffs.. Is that too much to ask??
:)

[Zaf]

I'd like to see the Mets get Delgado :)

ZAFONIC

[betchatoo]

I'm a Cub fan. as far as I'm concerned this is the middle of baseball season. At least it's when my hopes are highest

[sq764]

So is Sosa staying?

I thin Clemente leaving hurts the Cubs a bit..

[kingfin66]

I'd like to see the Mets get Delgado :)

ZAFONIC

But do you want to see Piazza back behind the plate?

[Zaf]

I'm OK with that, but how does Mike Feel ?

Tell me how John Franco gets a contract at 44 years old for 700 Large. Don't get me wrong I like John Franco, but the guy is hardly effective anymore.

ZAFONIC

[kingfin66]

I have an easy answer for that Z - Johnny Franco is a lefthander with a pulse. Rumor alsohas it that his friends may have made Houston's GM an offer he couldn't refuse ;)

[betchatoo]

So is Sosa staying?

I thin Clemente leaving hurts the Cubs a bit..

I'm hoping the Mets can't get Delgado and decide they need Sosa to round out their line-up. I'm afraid he'll be a major distraction if he stays. He was a big hero here for years, but the reports are, that at the Cub convention, he was booed every time his name was mentioned.

I like Matt Clement, he's a hard worker. but, with the emergence of Glendon Rusch and the fact the Cubs have some live arms in the minors they want to test, he was expendable.

What bothers me most about this off season is that their biggest addition was by subtraction from their division. They are so excited that Beltran is out of the division you'd think they signed him! And St. Louis seems to have lost more than they've gained. I'm still looking for them to add someone, maybe Ordonez, to add some of the power they lost when they didn't re-sign Alou

[cj]

I'm OK with that, but how does Mike Feel ?

Tell me how John Franco gets a contract at 44 years old for 700 Large. Don't get me wrong I like John Franco, but the guy is hardly effective anymore.

ZAFONIC

Two things that never die in baseball:
1) A left handed relief pitcher
2) A left handed hitting catcher

When is Jesse Orosco showing up on a roster again!?

[Doc]

As much as I would like to see the Phils win the division and make the playoffs, here's the hard, cold facts: All they added in the off-season was aged centerfielder Kenny Lofton and pitcher Jon Lieber, who has a history of arm problems. And, oh yeah, they added manager Charlie Manuel.

It all adds up to another disappointing season for the Fightin's. I spent in excess of $1,000 on tickets last year and I'll be damned if I spend that much this year. For what - to see Pat Burrell strike out again? To watch the Phils leave the bases loaded and not score a run?

I'll be paying closer attention to the Mets this season. I was a die-hard '69-70 Mets fan but switched my allegiance when I moved to Philadelphia. The Mets shelled out some serious dough in order to make themselves winners. That's an attitide the current Phils management doesn't have. :mad:

Doc

[sq764]

Two things that never die in baseball:
1) A left handed relief pitcher
2) A left handed hitting catcher

When is Jesse Orosco showing up on a roster again!?

3) A good utility guy/pinch hitter (Julio Franco is like 91 years old)

[Tee]

Baseball talk already?

NBA basketball isn't even to the midway point yet!!!

March Madness - well anyone can figure that one out :)

Yeah yeah I know, if the Sixers were playing on your back deck u wouldn't even open the blinds. :D :D

[sq764]

Baseball talk already?

NBA basketball isn't even to the midway point yet!!!

March Madness - well anyone can figure that one out :)

Yeah yeah I know, if the Sixers were playing on your back deck u wouldn't even open the blinds. :D :D

I do enjoy March Madness, it's a great event and you know every team is trying their hardest to win and hustling.. You don't get that too much in sports anymore..

NBA basketball - well, as much as I enjoy sitting through a 67-62 thriller, I'll pass

I just love baseball, period.. Like I said, is there anything better than a Sox/Yanks ALCS? Anything in sports compare right now?

[Tee]

Anything in sports compare right now?

Well for some people there is Tiger Woods :)

[sq764]

Well for some people there is Tiger Woods :)
Tigers Woods comparable to a Sox/Yanks ALCS.. I don't even know the words to respond to that..

[cj]

I just love baseball, period.. Like I said, is there anything better than a Sox/Yanks ALCS? Anything in sports compare right now?

I'd take any regular season NFL game over any baseball game, any big college hoops game, or Roger Federer play tennis against anyone, among others. The problem with baseball is you can take every pitch and condense the game down to a half hour video, yet it takes 3.5 to 4 hours in real time. I do like baseball, loved playing, but to watch some of these games is just downright boring.

[sq764]

have fun with a Bengals/Arizona Cardinals thriller... Give me Schilling vs Big Unit anyday

[Zaf]

I agree with CJ, I love baseball but for me any NFL game is KING !

ZAFONIC

[Zaf]

have fun with a Bengals/Arizona Cardinals thriller... Give me Schilling vs Big Unit anyday

Yes but would you rather watch a Bengals / Cardinals match up or a Brewers / Diamondbacks game ???

ZAFONIC

[kingfin66]

The problem with baseball is you can take every pitch and condense the game down to a half hour video, yet it takes 3.5 to 4 hours in real time.

I think this same thing has been done with football with similar results. The real difference is how the games flow. Football tends to have a more natural flow, until the dreaded TV timeouts. Touchdown/pat - commercial - kickoff - commercial....

[kingfin66]

have fun with a Bengals/Arizona Cardinals thriller... Give me Schilling vs Big Unit anyday

Come on, that's not a fair comparison. I'm sure anybody would rather see Big Unit vs. Schilling. Taking the best matchup in one sport against the worst in another isn't a good way to make a point. We could turn it around. Would you rather watch the Steelers/Patriots (regular season), or Loaiza against Wakefield or even the other guy with the blond dreadlocks?

[cj]

At least in football, when the ball is not in play, there is something going on. Players are in motion, the QB is surveying the field, calling audibles, the defense is adjusting...something. In baseball, they just kind of stand around and scratch while the pitcher mills around, shakes the catcher off a few times, then gets ready to pitch while the batter steps out, then back in, then the pitcher has to start over with the signs for some unknown reason, then he finally throws a pitch three feet outside, then it starts all over again. And this is before some fat guy like Jon Kruk reaches base and the pitcher feels he has to keep him within 6 inches of the bag, so he throws over to first 3 or 4 times. And what's with those visits to the mound? Like Jeff Weaver told his rookie catcher when he came out to talk to him after being shaken off, "When they yank you after a ball lands in the bleachers, you can tell me what pitch to throw. Now turn around and get your @$$ behind the plate!"

As for football, the TV timeouts have gotten ridiculous, but other than that, its a much better game to watch. Anyone noticed how they "discovered" this year you don't have to stick around for replay reviews, you can go to a commercial instead?

[sq764]

Yes but would you rather watch a Bengals / Cardinals match up or a Brewers / Diamondbacks game ???

ZAFONIC
that's when I go cut the grass or go to the track if it comes to that

[sq764]

Come on, that's not a fair comparison. I'm sure anybody would rather see Big Unit vs. Schilling. Taking the best matchup in one sport against the worst in another isn't a good way to make a point. We could turn it around. Would you rather watch the Steelers/Patriots (regular season), or Loaiza against Wakefield or even the other guy with the blond dreadlocks?
Loaiza versus Wakefield anyday... You're still talking Yankees/Sox.. Nothing beats that..

Sorry, but every game in the ALCS last year was more exciting than the Steelers/Pats game..

[sq764]

CJ, the visits to the mound pale in comparison to the last 4 minutes of an NFL game taking 45 minutes to finish.. A team is down by 30 points and they are onside kicking, calling timeouts, commercials, challenges, instant replays, another tv timeout, wait, finally a play - oh an incompletion.. Clock stops after a 4 second play.. 35 seconds until the next...

BORING...

[Tee]

Tigers Woods comparable to a Sox/Yanks ALCS.. I don't even know the words to respond to that..

I said some people - myself not included!!

I'd rather watch the baseball game!!

[OTM Al]

I think George Carlin says is all on the subject, so I'll let his words speak for themselves

Baseball is a 19th century pastoral game.
Football is a 20th century new world order paramilitary power struggle.

Baseball is played in a park...the baseball park.
Football is played in a stadium, sometimes called Soldier Field or War Memorial Stadium.

The baseball field is...a diamond.
The football field is a gridiron.

Baseball begins in the spring, the season of new life.
Football begins in the fall, when everything is dying.

In football, you wear a helmet.
In baseball, you wear a cap!

Football is concerned with downs. What down is it? Oh, it's the last down.
Baseball is concerned with ups. Who's up? Are you up? He's up! I'm up!!

In football, you get a penalty.
In baseball, you make an error...oops!

In football, the specialist comes on to kick something.
In baseball, the specialist comes in to relieve somebody.

Football has tackling, clipping, spearing, piling on, personal fouls, late hitting, sacking, and unnecessary roughness.
Baseball has . . . the sacrifice.

Football is played in any kind of weather--rain, snow, sleet, hail, fog, major catastrophe, can't see, don't know if there's a game going on, mud on the field, can't read the uniforms, can't read the yard markers--doesn't matter, the struggle will continue.
In baseball, if it rains, we don't go out to play. I can't go out, it's raining out!!

Baseball has the s e v e n t h i n n i n g s t r e t c h .
Football has the twominutewarning.

And, of course, the objectives of the games are also completely different.

In football, the object is for the quarterback, sometimes called the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack which may consist of power plays designed to punch holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball, the object is to get home . . . safe.

[Zaf]

OTM,

I love that routine ! I was just listening to that the other day. What a classic !

ZAFONIC

[OTM Al]

Just says it all to me :) Its pointless to argue which is better as George points out just how different they really are

[sq764]

I see the Mets missed out on Delgado, signed with Florida..

Please don't tell me he went with Fla for $1 million more..

[betchatoo]

I see the Mets missed out on Delgado, signed with Florida..

Please don't tell me he went with Fla for $1 million more..

From the reports I read he actually accepted slightly less money to sign with the Marlins. He liked the way they treated him better

[OTM Al]

Hmmmmm.......the Mets look to acquire a 1st baseman from the Red Sox for an A baller and cash......curse of the Mientkiewicz anyone :)

[ceejay]

From the reports I read he actually accepted slightly less money to sign with the Marlins. He liked the way they treated him betterBut since FL is a no-income tax state (and in NY he would have state and city tax), it might net to more money from the fish.

[betchatoo]

But since FL is a no-income tax state (and in NY he would have state and city tax), it might net to more money from the fish.

It's possible, it may also be that he just didn't want to play in New York. There are those who are not comfortable playing in a continuous spotlight

[sq764]

They interviewed him and he said he wanted to play for a contender and a team that's showed they are trying to win..

Not sure if that was a subtle dig at the Mets and Orioles..