2010 MLB Season Discussion

[Soa]

We resent them because they were nowhere to be found a few years ago. When the Nats first came back, we'd see a few hundred Phils fans at RFK. Win a World Series, and suddenly everyone who ever stepped foot in PA, NJ, or DE is suddenly a diehard. It's like the Red Sox phenomenon all over again.

I'm not gonna deny it, there are a ton of bandwagoners right now. I think it has more to do with CBP opening and the Eagles choking every year than the World Series in 2008.

The Vet was an absolute shit hole that even I hated going to, which is probably why attendance was always so low there. The Bank has damn near sold out every game since it opened several years before the WS title. The Phillies have also had winning seasons 9 of the last 10 years, so its not like they the suddenly got good.

Maybe you should resent your ownership instead for selling 15k group sale tickets to Philly fans instead of the fans themselves. You can also tell them to stop advertising the games on Philly sports radio too if you don't want your park invaded. Hell their owner personally interviewed on WIP and invited Philly fans to come down to see the games last year.

But anyway I know whats its like to have my park invaded by visiting fans (Mets, Red Sox) and I feel for you. Why there was such massive QQ and national media exposure about this one particular instance I don't know. The stands were empty last night so it was just an opening day thing it seems.

[Cephius]

And nothing I said there was wrong either. He's still a shitty pitcher.

That's kind of a stretch, he's not any good but "shitty" seems overly harsh. His ERA has been league average the last 3 years, he's good for 200 innings pretty much every year and *shudder* wins double digit games every year. 2006 was the only year you can point to and say he was anything close to "shitty". Other than that he's been a pretty serviceable major league starter.

Well saying the only reason a guy can hit is because pitchers throw bad pitches is a tad insulting (and completely wrong considering the numbers he puts up). The part about holes in his swing is true, but its also true for all hitters. He also has to deal with that ridiculous shift too, but it is his own fault for not being able to hit pitches the other way consistently.

I found the part about how he watches all this tape on Howard, yet failed to realize that the pitch he threw was right in one of his "holes" (outside part of the plate), pretty funny. Sounds like he was just frustrated about his outing, which is understandable.

I don't think hitters would even argue that all they do is hit mistakes. Very few guys can take a good pitch and hit it. They're the exception, not the rule, imo. Every good hitter I've heard speak will tell you they look for the one mistake pitch that is usually thrown in each at bat. If they take it or miss it, 9 times out of 10 they're gonna make an out.

Howard is a low-average, high strikeout, high home run hitter. He's a classic example of a mistake hitter, and clearly one of the best in the game. Again, I don't think anything Marquis said was meant to be insulting, he was telling it like it is. He threw a terrible pitch, and Howard did what he does better than most hitters, smacked it about 500 feet.

[Conrad]

I'll admit that I didn't used to follow the Phillies more than a fleeting interest before 2007 or so, but since then I've immersed myself in the game and I'll be following them forever now. Eagles were the same way for me. I didn't care about sports until recently, but once I did I was hooked and am trying not to appear or become a bandwagoner by learning as much as possible.

Having said that, I'm planning to go to a Nats or Pirates game this year at some point.

[Absolutely Virtue]

I'm not gonna deny it, there are a ton of bandwagoners right now. I think it has more to do with CBP opening and the Eagles choking every year than the World Series in 2008.

I agree the park probably helps, even though I haven't actually seen it. But the Phils did finish 9th in attendance in the NL the second year it was open ('05).

And believe me man, we're infinitely more upset with the ownership than we are with Philly fans. I don't fault them at all for wanting to see their team. But the cursing and the booing and the general Philly assholery that passes for fandom in that town does get tiring. Again, this is nothing against real Philly fans. I'm sure you know what I mean.

What is so bad about this story is the timing. The Nats sold those tickets to Philly organizations for opening day BEFORE they went on sale to the general public. That means that Nats fans never even had a chance to get them before they were gone. And not just general Nats fans, but season ticket holders, too. One of the perks of being a season ticket holder (you probably know this) is that you can buy additional tickets to games before everyone else. But the Nats actually sold thousands (maybe tens of thousands) of tickets to Philly and locked the locals out. Once the remaining tickets were put on sale to the general public they sold out in seven minutes. Thousands of Nats fans couldn't get a ticket because they went to Philly first. And to make matters even worse, many of the brokers in Philly have gone on record to say the Nats contacted them IN DECEMBER about buying tickets, months before they went on sale to the general public in February. This is why we're so mad.

The Nats don't draw well in DC because we suck. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. But opening day always sells out, I know because I have been to every single one of them. Nobody would have had a problem if the tickets went on sale and the Nats appealed to Philly in March because the game hadn't sold out yet. I mean, that's embarrassing, but that's business. What sucks is that those tickets the Philly fans had would definitely have been purchased by Nats fans, and we never had a chance to buy them. We got fucked by our owners, plain and simple.

[Melena]

So a little late on posting this due to bs at work, but got my fantasy baseball team set. Probably one of my more balanced teams in recent years, what do you guys think.

C: Kurt Suzuki
1B: Michael Cuddyer
2B: Aaron Hill
3B: Evan Longoria
SS: Jason Bartlett
OF: Jason Upton
OF: Torii Hunter
OF: Shin-Soo Choo
Util: Jorge Cantu
Bnx4: Aaron Rowand, Bengie Molina, Alexi Ramirez, Martin Prado.

SPx6: Zach Duke, Randy Wolf, Jonathan SAnchez, Scott Feldman, Justin Verlander, CC Sabathia.
RPx3: Brian Wilson, Francisco Rodriguez, David Aardsma

[Trichocyst]

I kinda hate a lot of Phillies fans knowing that they weren't watching when the team was bad, ha. I liked deciding on a whim to go to opening day. But I wouldn't trade the team's success for that. I'd hate the Phillies if I were the Nationals. Maybe it will make for more heated, motivated, baseball.

[Penthesilea]

I kinda hate a lot of Phillies fans knowing that they weren't watching when the team was bad, ha. I liked deciding on a whim to go to opening day. But I wouldn't trade the team's success for that. I'd hate the Phillies if I were the Nationals. Maybe it will make for more heated, motivated, baseball.

We used to have a season ticket package behind home plate back at the Vet, so while I was a braves/phils fan since I can even remember, I always went to Phils games.

Since they got rid of the Braves off TBS I haven't followed them one bit.

[Akiyama]

Hrm. I'm on Brighthouse Cable..and for some reason, I'm getting the MLB "Pay-per-view" games for free right now.. maybe just because it's the start of the season?

[Headspace]

Reds walk off

[Akiyama]

I saw that on the 'on demand' bit. Nice blast.

[Alderaan]

Second day in a row with no Atl game on SS or FS.

Last night they aired college hockey and tonight it's poker. I want my TBS Braves back.

[Kyo]

They're going to be on sportssouth tomorrow, and yeah I miss it when TBS aired EVERY braves game.

[Headspace]

Fuck that shit, I need my Raymond.

[Akiyama]

Second day in a row with no Atl game on SS or FS.

Last night they aired college hockey and tonight it's poker. I want my TBS Braves back.

It'll be on MLB-N tonight, or PTV (Peachtree TV)

[Akiyama]

Oh nice. Earnie Johnson is back doing Braves stuff (the main guy on PTV with Joe Simpson and John Smoltz)

Really weird seeing Smoltz in the booth one night, Glavine on another. Needs more Maddux.

[pohibaba]

Joe West (the crew chief of the umpires who recently called the Saux/Yanks series) came out today and called the teams a "disgrace to baseball" and mentioned that the players refused to help the crew shorten the length of their games. I hate those teams more than anything, to be honest, and I am inclined to agree with him.

Link.

[Cephius]

Joe West (the crew chief of the umpires who recently called the Saux/Yanks series) came out today and called the teams a "disgrace to baseball" and mentioned that the players refused to help the crew shorten the length of their games. I hate those teams more than anything, to be honest, and I am inclined to agree with him.

Link.

Yeah, fuck those teams who have players who take a lot of pitches and try to get the starters out of the game. Hernandez didn't grant time 3 times, like that would have sped up the game sooooo much.

Give me a break. Joe West should work on getting his correct strike call percentage above 70 before he talks shit in the media.

[Alderaan]

Braves offense seems to have completely disappeared. Hoping for some late inning heroics.

[Akiyama]

Something Braves fans were used to last year. What, our pitcher went 5-6 innings, sometimes 7, and only gave up 1-2 runs? Easy win! Oh.. the Braves never scored? Oh..

[Viq]

Yeah, fuck those teams who have players who take a lot of pitches and try to get the starters out of the game. Hernandez didn't grant time 3 times, like that would have sped up the game sooooo much.

Give me a break. Joe West should work on getting his correct strike call percentage above 70 before he talks shit in the media.

Seriously. Angel Hernandez fucking made the game longer in game two by never granting time. Batters would creep out of the box, catchers would come out of crouches, pitchers would end up backing off all without Hernandez moving a muscle. It caused confusion, a couple chats, and made the game longer. Game 3 would have been under three hours if it didn't go to extra innings. What the fuck does Joe West want, besides a new roast beef to tuck under his chin?