2025 Major League Baseball Thread

[Jellybeans]

Yanks leading 10-4 over the Royals

A-Rod aiming for 600 HR

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by Jellybeans

Yanks leading 10-4 over the Royals

A-Rod aiming for 600 HR

I was thinking about A-Rod and the all-time record earlier today after hearing about him closing in on 600. I've never been a big A-Rod fan but truth be told I'd be very happy seeing him pass Bonds for the career home run mark. I know both juiced but A-Rod is easily the lesser of two evils.

Albert Pujols is a guy who might have had a shot at keeping pace with A-Rod in career homers but he didn't make his MLB debut until he was a few years older than A-Rod. Right now Pujols is 30 and roughly 100 HR below A-Rod when he was 30. Though I do still consider Pujols a slightly better overall player. Hard to believe Pujols still has never hit 50 HR in one season. He's Mr. Consistency hitting home runs in the 35-48 range year in year out.

The fact that players don't seem to be hitting 50 home runs in a season like they used to will make it hard for anyone to catch A-Rod likely career HR mark.

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by bootsy

As a Cub fan, who do you want as manager? I feel if Girardi is available get him if not make Sandberg the manager. Torre at this point looks like he has had it and we may be in the same situation 3 years from now that we are with Piniella.

Also what do you think about Hendry coming back as GM?

I'm not a Cubs fan but I'd say they should give Sandberg the job. The guy is a lifelong Cub and class-act. He's paid his dues toiling as a manager in the minors and I really think he deserves a chance. Not that I'd wish the Cubs manager job on my worst enemy... turning around that organization is going to be a monumental job for any future coach.

I actually met Sandberg many years ago. He was on rehab assignment for my local minor league Daytona Cubs. Great guy. He literally spent a good hour signing autographs, shaking hands and chatting with fans.

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by supersix4

Orioles are getting worked by the Twins just another day in the office for them.

BALTIMORE -- The mounting frustration over a lost season finally got to the Baltimore Orioles, who put their anger on full display during an otherwise listless performance against the Minnesota Twins.

Carl Pavano pitched a five-hitter to earn his career-high seventh straight victory and the Twins defeated the infuriated Orioles 5-0 on Thursday night.

Orioles first baseman Ty Wigginton, pitching coach Rick Kranitz and interim manager Juan Samuel were all ejected in the seventh inning. It was a rare show of emotion for the team with the worst record in the majors.

Wigginton was incensed over a call by first base umpire Gary Darling, who ruled that J.J. Hardy got back to the bag on an aborted attempt to steal second. Wigginton threw off his cap and yelled until he became red in the face, stopping only after Samuel forcefully pulled him away.

As he walked off the field, Wigginton tossed the ball into the stands.

"He said I missed him. I felt he was out," Wigginton said.

Replays showed Darling blew the call, which he confirmed afterward.

"He missed him the first time and on a close play; he got him the second time it looked like," Darling said.

Wigginton said he did not make contact with the umpire, but Darling said there was a bump in the chest-stomach area.

Darling's call ended up costing the Orioles when Hardy scored on a single by Drew Butera to make it 5-0.

An instant later, Kranitz was ejected by home plate umpire Bill Hohn.

"I didn't say anything. I sarcastically clapped in the way that the umpire, I guess, Bill Hohn took offense to," Kranitz said. "It wasn't the right thing to do, but you know, you get frustrated."

That brought out Samuel, who immediately threw down his hat at Hohn's feet and then kicked it aside before waving his arms and hollering at the umpire.

"Kranny didn't say anything. That's what I was trying to tell Bill Hohn," Samuel said. "I was trying to tell him. How can you blame Kranny when one of your guys blew the call? Kranny didn't deserve that. He didn't miss the call."

The struggling Orioles (30-65) finished with two more hits than ejections.

"We're in last place, and anytime you're in last place there's a lot of frustration in the season," Wigginton said. "Obviously, that's not where we wanted to be."

Pavano (12-6) struck out four and walked one in his fifth complete game of the season and 12th of his career. The right-hander is 7-0 in nine starts since June 3.

"Everything I have done to this point has been fine, but there are still important games ahead," Pavano said.

Still, the Twins couldn't have found a much better way to start their first road trip after the All-Star Game.

"It was a great night. Pavano was fantastic, pitching a game like that," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "It's our first game on the road, and he does what he's supposed to do. It is fantastic to see him pitch right now and it's big for our baseball team."

Pavano got all the offensive support he needed when Delmon Young hit a three-run double in the first inning off Kevin Millwood (2-9). Michael Cuddyer hit his 10th homer leading off the fourth.

Millwood was making his first start after a 16-day stay on the disabled list with a strained right forearm. He gave up five runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings, leaving him 0-9 lifetime against Minnesota.

Before going on the disabled list, Millwood gave up at least two first-inning runs in eight of his last nine starts. He was poised to buck the trend after getting two quick outs, but a double by Joe Mauer and two walks loaded the bases for Young, who lined a 3-2 pitch to the gap in left-center for a 3-0 lead.

"Delmon had another big hit for us. Coming up and ripping one in the gap was a great way to start the game," Gardenhire said. "But Pavano was the big story."

Pavano's performance came one day after the Twins blanked the Cleveland Indians, giving Minnesota successive shutouts for the first time since April 11-12, 2008.

Game notes
The homer by Cuddyer was the 21st allowed by Millwood, second-most in the AL. ... Minnesota's Orlando Hudson's 10-game hitting streak ended.

Source - ESPN

[fatediesel]

Originally Posted by bootsy

I was also listening to WSCR-AM The Score in Chicago and Hub Arkush (Sp?)(the longtime football guy in Chicago) made an interesting point about the Cubs needing Hendry right now because he is the only baseball man the Cubs have right now in the front office and with Crane Kenney and Ricketts not having the knowledge to make baseball decisions it may be in the best interest to hang on to Hendry.

I think it's unlikely Hendry is fired because I believe he has 2 years left on his contract and it was signed after 2 straight playoff appearences so it would probably be too expensive to buy him out. If he is fired I'd hope they would replace him with someone with a strong background and that Ricketts would let him run the team.

I don't understand what's going on with the Orioles and Buck Showalter. It's been reported for weeks that he's the front runner for the manager job, and he's had several interviews, but they still haven't hired him. Buster Olney at ESPN tweated yesterday:
"Heard this: Buck Showalter remains the first choice of the Orioles, but the deal is not done and there are potential hurdles to an agreement"
Since Showalter works at ESPN there's a high likelyhood that Showalter told Olney about the potential hurdles. At this point I don't know why the Orioles don't just finish the season with an interim manager and hire someone after the season.

[Jellybeans]

I hope A-Rod gets his 600th HR tonight.

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by ChadFL

I know both juiced but A-Rod is easily the lesser of two evils.

Yeah I totally agree, I was counting on A-rod to be clean but that whole thing was a complete blind side, but oh well.

[fatediesel]

Major League Baseball is going to start blood testing it's minor league players for HGH. They can do this because there is no minor league union to fight them on this. This could actually end up backfiring and hurting future HGH testing for MLB (and potentially other sports) because it's unlikely there are going to be many positive tests. The reason is simple, HGH is expensive and most minor league players can't afford it. The MLBPA will then argue that big league testing isn't necessary because the minor league tests proved few players use HGH. HGH testing is rather useless anyway. HGH only remains in a player's blood for 24-48 hours so it is hard to catch them. Also, most experts say players with money have already moved on from HGH to drugs with no current tests.

[Dexter Morgan]

Originally Posted by ChadFL

I was thinking about A-Rod and the all-time record earlier today after hearing about him closing in on 600. I've never been a big A-Rod fan but truth be told I'd be very happy seeing him pass Bonds for the career home run mark. I know both juiced but A-Rod is easily the lesser of two evils.

Albert Pujols is a guy who might have had a shot at keeping pace with A-Rod in career homers but he didn't make his MLB debut until he was a few years older than A-Rod. Right now Pujols is 30 and roughly 100 HR below A-Rod when he was 30. Though I do still consider Pujols a slightly better overall player. Hard to believe Pujols still has never hit 50 HR in one season. He's Mr. Consistency hitting home runs in the 35-48 range year in year out.

The fact that players don't seem to be hitting 50 home runs in a season like they used to will make it hard for anyone to catch A-Rod likely career HR mark.

Just like the guy who ended up with 755 career home runs. I think Hammerin' Hank's season high was 47; he just played (consistently) forever to get that record.

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by Dexter Morgan

Just like the guy who ended up with 755 career home runs. I think Hammerin' Hank's season high was 47; he just played (consistently) forever to get that record.

Not just played for a very long time but Hank was seemingly never injured for a prolonged period of time in his career. Which is really ashame because Bonds was always getting injured it seemed and still broke Aaron's record thanks to juicing.

[Louisville Slugger]

Originally Posted by Jellybeans

I hope A-Rod gets his 600th HR tonight.

I hope he hits it tomorrow because I'll be at the stadium

[Kev1080P]

Originally Posted by ChadFL

I was thinking about A-Rod and the all-time record earlier today after hearing about him closing in on 600. I've never been a big A-Rod fan but truth be told I'd be very happy seeing him pass Bonds for the career home run mark. I know both juiced but A-Rod is easily the lesser of two evils.

Albert Pujols is a guy who might have had a shot at keeping pace with A-Rod in career homers but he didn't make his MLB debut until he was a few years older than A-Rod. Right now Pujols is 30 and roughly 100 HR below A-Rod when he was 30. Though I do still consider Pujols a slightly better overall player. Hard to believe Pujols still has never hit 50 HR in one season. He's Mr. Consistency hitting home runs in the 35-48 range year in year out.

The fact that players don't seem to be hitting 50 home runs in a season like they used to will make it hard for anyone to catch A-Rod likely career HR mark.

or we could all just recognize Hammerin Hank as the true HR king that he is

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by Kev1080P

or we could all just recognize Hammerin Hank as the true HR king that he is

I don't think I ever booed as loudly as I did when Barry Bonds "passed" Hank Aaron's record.

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by Kev1080P

or we could all just recognize Hammerin Hank as the true HR king that he is

In my mind he is. And Maris is the single season HR king.

[Batman1980]

We really only have Liriano and Pavano, the rest of our starting rotation are a bunch of scrubs. Why didn't we try harder to get Lee?

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Stormcrow

I don't think I ever booed as loudly as I did when Barry Bonds "passed" Hank Aaron's record.

I remember seeing a fan holding a sign on TV at a Bonds game as he was nearing Hank's HR mark. Sign said something to the effect of "Babe did it on hotdogs and beer, Hank did it with guts and class, how did YOU do it Barry?". That summed it up for me.

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Stormcrow

We really only have Liriano and Pavano, the rest of our starting rotation are a bunch of scrubs. Why didn't we try harder to get Lee?

Do you really need to ask that question?

$$$$$ It's what MLB is all about these days. The haves (Yankees) and the have-nots (almsot everyone else).

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by ChadFL

I remember seeing a fan holding a sign on TV at a Bonds game as he was nearing Hank's HR mark. Sign said something to the effect of "Babe did it on hotdogs and beer, Hank did it with guts and class, how did YOU do it Barry?". That summed it up for me.

Also the fact that usually when significant milestones are about to be passed, the person who's getting passed usually comes to watch and Hank Aaron was nowhere near that game.

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Stormcrow

Also the fact that usually when significant milestones are about to be passed, the person who's getting passed usually comes to watch and Hank Aaron was nowhere near that game.

Ya, Maris's family was only at McGwire's single-season record breaking 62nd HR game because the steroid controvery wasn't public at the time.

[Hi-Def Steve]

Originally Posted by Jellybeans

I hope A-Rod gets his 600th HR tonight.

Is it true Yankee fans booo'd him because he wasnt able to hit the 600th last night?