Lovemyteam Message Board

The Right to Boo

mstreet — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 23:40:52 GMT

In my blog today, I relate the story of my family's recent trip to PETCO, where we watched the Padres face the D-backs last Tuesday, hoping to see Brandon Webb win his 20th.

You can read the full story here, but the gist of it was that a Padres fan behind us razzed Webb and Tony Clark for most of the game. This seemed, at the least, absurd for the fan of a last-place team to boo the best pitcher of the visiting first-place team.

It made me wonder: do fans have a right to boo? If your team is thirty games below .500, do you have the right to make fun of the fact that the first place team is barely at .500 (as this guy did)? If your ace only has 9 wins, can you call a 19-game winner a "bum" (as this guy did, repeatedly, even before Webb began to fall apart on the mound)? Can you boo a guy who's having a great season, or just a poor one? Are there villains you can always boo, or is it OK to boo a nice guy like Webb or Clark? Is booing relative?

Whaddya think, LMTers

Favorite A Park

jwagner — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:29:40 GMT

With my recent foray back to some minor league parks, I thought it might be fun to hear your thoughts on your favorite place to see a AAA game... I'm going to do a thread like this for AAA and single AA so we aren't comparing apples to oranges.

Also, I am curious to hear what kind of things you like in your minor league parks.

Favorite AA Park

jwagner — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:28:59 GMT

With my recent foray back to some minor league parks, I thought it might be fun to hear your thoughts on your favorite place to see a AAA game... I'm going to do a thread like this for AAA and single A so we aren't comparing apples to oranges.

Also, I am curious to hear what kind of things you like in your minor league parks.

Favorite AAA park

jwagner — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:28:32 GMT

With my recent foray back to some minor league parks, I thought it might be fun to hear your thoughts on your favorite place to see a AAA game... I'm going to do a thread like this for AA and single A so we aren't comparing apples to oranges.

Also, I am curious to hear what kind of things you like in your minor league parks.

Pitch counts

jwagner — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:32:39 GMT

So, obviously I don't care. I think some guys pitch counts are right for and some don't need them, but am I alone? Its ok if I am. Would you want to your teams number 3, 4 and 5 starters pitch until the game was over? Would that make baseball better?

CC Sabathia is making me a fan with his complete game, no pitch count thing, but do I want Manny Parra to do the same? I want him to want to, but I also want the coaching staff to say there is a better way to win the game.... thoughts?

Yaz

jwagner — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:37:54 GMT

So I was focused on the National league during the years while I was watching baseball and Yaz was still playing, so I don't remember much of his playing days. I was wondering if I could get a few of you folks to share your memories of Yaz on the day he leaves the hospital.

Reds Letter to the Fans

soxfan1 — Thur, 21 Aug 2008 14:23:34 GMT

I agree with J that the Reds letter to the fans is mostly hot air. For a team that has been trying to re-build since about '96 the Cincy fans have to be laughing loudly. They are a perfect case study of how to mis-manage their way to last place. Castelini & Jockety are good baseball guys but they need to develop a strategy and stick to it. If they want to go young then they need to pay off Dusty Baker and go with a developmental guy. Dusty's track record with young players is a joke. If they want to win now then big bucks need to be spent on free agents (not really a sure thing - see the Seattle Mariners). What about the fans??? They have been suffering for over a decade now. They should start some big time promotions AND give something back to the season ticket holders! Cincy is a great baseball town, but right now the Reds are an embarassment.

Wins for a closer

jwagner — Thur, 21 Aug 2008 12:57:26 GMT

So, Brian Wilson blew his streak of 24 straight converted save opportunities last night, but ended with the win. Matt Cain who had pitched a gem was robbed of that win too.

It doesn't seem to be fair to me for a guy who blows a save to be able to earn the win, since that is such a positive stat for the guy. Can anyone come up with a situation where a closer getting the win when he came in in a save opportunity isn't a bad thing?

Adam Dunn and the Diamondbacks

jwagner — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:13:37 GMT

I know that the D'backs needed a bat, but can this team withstand his defensive miscues?

Funny that Manny and the closest thing to him in the NL are now playing against each other in the same division....

Thoughts?

Bonds and Rose

StantheMan — Thur, 07 Aug 2008 13:30:28 GMT

Did Pete Rose violate any law or MLB regualtion in becoming the all time leader in hits ?

Did Bonds violate any law or or MLB regualtion in becoming the all time leader in home runs ?

Forget personalities, the Hall of Fame should not be considered a popularity contest.

As a player Pete Rose belongs in the hall of fame, as well as the front of a box of  Wheaties. There is no hint of any wrong doing in his playing career.

As a player Bonds, Bonds has a big bucket  of hints about wrong doing in his playing career.

Comparing Bonds to Rose is not a resonable comparison.

GM's playing for their jobs

jwagner — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:32:23 GMT

So I have to say I missed the boat on one big story in the Manny trade. Ned Colletti, who is one of the most respected GM's, has shelled out a ridicuous amount of money on his outfield -- Juan Pierre (5yrs/$44 million) and Andruw Jones (2yrs/$36million) -- needs to make the playoffs to justify that amount of money spent and save his job. His contract runs through 2009 only, and despite the Dodger brand, and the large market, the Dodgers are one of the poorest teams. (Honestly, their owners are one of the poorest sets of owners.) Hard to overspend, not make the playoffs and keep your job.

Omar Minaya might be in the same boat. The Wilpons need to sell a new stadium in a bad economy. If there is too much outcry and not enough playoff gate reciepts, Omar could be gone.

Are there others that I am missing?

MVPs and Cy Youngs

mastag10 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:53:10 GMT

Pretty self explanitory, here are some of my picks thus far.

NL Cy Young: Tim Lincecum. Lincecum is tied for the second lowest ERA in the NL, he has 11 wins and only 3 losses for a team that is 17 under .500, and has the second most quality starts in the league only one behind Haren who has 19. He also leads the league in strikeouts and K/9, and has a respectable K/BB ratio of 3.09. He gets the least amount of run support per game at 4.99 runs per game when compared to other Cy Young candidates, Santana 5.20, Haren 5.56, Volquez 5.68, and Zambrano's 6.08, and he's 12th in the league in BAA at .238, barely edged by Zambrano, with Haren at 3 and Volquez at 4. Volquez has been somewhat inconsistent as of late, and I think Lincecum beats out Haren in that Lincecum has a 10.09 K/9 and Haren's is a sturdy 8.32.

Going to have to put some more thought into the NL MVP and come back and try and make my case later.

White Sox and Griffey

jwagner — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:21:43 GMT

So, there has been plenty of discussion in the baseball world about the addition of Griffey to the White Sox by the so called experts. Does it weaken their defense? Does the left handed bat help? Since there are quite a few White Sox fans here, I wanted to know what you all think. ...

Manny A Dodger

mstreet — Thur, 31 Jul 2008 22:04:42 GMT

This swap is very interesting, and Boston fans and management have to be glad that this headache is out of their lineup at such a relatively low cost. Bay is a great substitute for Manny defensively, and a very good hitter to put in the middle of their lineup.

Having Manny in the Dodgers outfield means it's even more crowded--look for Andruw Jones to take a seat, and probably have Kemp and Ethier share time in right, since neither can play center--but putting his war club in the middle of that lineup puts the Dodgers into the lead for the NL West. Their pitching has been great lately, and Arizona just doesn't seem like it can play consistent baseball, especially at the plate.

Manny's lack of clubhouse leadership should be balanced somewhat by Torre's veteran presence, and whatever poison he injects there won't last long, since I don't see LA signing him to an extension after this year.

Pittsburgh gets a nice handful of prospects from both teams, so it played the market well for one of the big chips out on the table.

Any other thoughts from the Boston, LA and Pittsburgh fans out there?

Marlins

jwagner — Thur, 31 Jul 2008 00:25:10 GMT

Personally, I think the Marlins are going to make a solid run at the playoffs, and this series against the Mets shows that they can compete. If any of the trade rumors -- getting Manny or even getting Benji Molina-- this team is going to be in it and the Phillies and Mets will have something bigger to worry about. Thoughts?