The World Series

[Komatteru]

So, once again, the Mets have disappointed Klep.  It's his own fault for believing in them in the first place...

So, World Series.  Do my Tigers win it all this year?  I don't have that high of an opinion of the Cardinals, after watching the NCLS.  In particular, their defense seems unorganized.  It actually looks kinda selfish, as I've never seen that many players run into each other and run over each other trying to make plays.  For instance, in tonight's game, Scott Rolan charges halfway across the diamond to field a ball that the shortstop would have had easily, and ends up tossing it into the first row (literally).  There were a bunch of other instances of that sort of poor communication.  You usually don't find "ball hogs" on baseball diamonds, as it's not like someone is paying them to make extra putouts and assists...

I think the Mets would have been a better matchup, but they had more injuries than available players.

[Machinus]

Fucking mets. Thanks for loading the bases.

[Klep]

So, once again, the Mets have disappointed Klep.  It's his own fault for believing in them in the first place...

Thank God.  Can you imagine if they actually won?  I'd have to find a whole new schtick!


EDIT: And what the hell happened to the Tigers?  Last time I paid any attention to baseball, they were completely terrible.  Now they're in the world series? Double-you tee eff.

[The Atog Lord]

Baseball? The season ended weeks ago!

*sad new englander*

[Komatteru]

You could at least keep cheering on the team that obliterated the Yankees. As we all know, October is the time to root against the Yankees!

[The Atog Lord]

That's true, JD. The Tigers have my support for the series for taking out the Yankees.

I watched a game of Tigers vs Yankees in a Michigan bar. I don't know who was more happy to see the Tigers win -- their fans or me. Either way, a good time.

[Meddling Mike]

I'll also be backing the tigers on the basis that they beat the yankees....that...and I hate the cardinals, I'm saying the tigers in 5 games.

Maybe this year the sox will decide that pitching is a priority and not trade away starters in an already unstable starting rotation and lackluster bullpen.

[KrzyMoose]

Tigers ftw.

I'm actually going to the game on Sunday.

At least one (well, two, seeing as the Shock won the WNBA Championship) Detroit team made it to the finals...

[dandan]

Why don't you call it rounders?

[Meddling Mike]

Why don't you call it rounders?

I do call it rounders....... if I'm talking about the fantastic poker movie released in 1998 starring Matt Damon, Edward Norton and John Malkovich that is.

[nataz]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0610/gallery.mlb.playoffcontroversies/content.1.html

comments?

[Komatteru]

The fact that no one bothered to actually find out what it is makes the entire discussion a waste of time.  If you see a man with a long coat walk down the street with a bulge near his leg, do you automatically assume that he's carrying an AK-47 in there because that's what it looks like from a distance?  I suppose we should arrest that man and throw him in jail because we noticed what he might have had after the fact.

The analytical skills of media people need serious work.  Believing something after the fact, after further investigatation was declined--LaRussa didn't ask for the inspection, and the umpires didn't do one--is pretty ridiculous.

Also, Rogers pitched better after he washed his hands.  He allowed a hit and a walk in the first, but he didn't allow another baserunner until the 5th after he washed his hands.

Maybe it was pine tar, but since no one cared enough to find out, speculation as to what it might have been is just foolish.  You cannot tell if a substance is pine tar beyond reasonable doubt from pictures or camera.  There are many substances that can be found on a baseball diamond that are brown.  Ball-rubbing mud, infield dirt, dust on the ground, chewing tobacco residue, etc.

[Machinus]

There are many substances that can be found on a baseball diamond that are brown.  Ball-rubbing mud, infield dirt, dust on the ground, chewing tobacco residue, etc.

I imagine some of them would also help to create a mean spitball.

[Komatteru]

Meanwhile, the Tigers have apparently gone to the Little League School of Fielding, based on how they've played defense this series.  What a bunch of jobbers.

When does basketball season start again?  I can't lose this year.  I have my Pistons in the East and my main man Steve Nash over in the West.  With Steve Nash throwing the ball to Amare again, Phoenix should average 130.

[nataz]

2-1 for the Cards, Sweet.

Oh, and as for the mark, its hardly as innocuous as you claim it to be.
from the SI coverage

The story swirling around Rogers, who had a mysterious, brownish smudge on his pitching hand Sunday night in Game 2, does not seem to be going away any time soon.

Prompted by St. Louis manager Tony La Russa, the umpires asked Rogers to clean off his left hand before the second inning. He wound up pitching eight shutout innings in a 3-1 victory that evened the World Series at one game each.

Rogers insisted mud, resin, spit and dirt was what everyone saw at the base of his left thumb.

La Russa isn't buying it.

"I don't believe it was dirt," La Russa said Monday. "Didn't look like dirt."

Apparently, the Cardinals believe Rogers was scuffing balls, too.

"It was so blatant," St. Louis hitting coach Hal McRae said in a story USA TODAY published Tuesday. "What was so strange about it was how obvious it was, in the World Series. It's a shame a guy would cheat in a World Series game. It hurts the integrity of the game.

"He wasn't just cheating by using pine tar; he was scuffing balls, too. We collected about five or six balls that are scuffed. He had to be using his fingernails or something."

My favorite heckle so far

"Employees Must Wash Their Hands Before Leaving the Dugout,"

[Komatteru]

The story swirling around Rogers, who had a mysterious, brownish smudge on his pitching hand Sunday night in Game 2, does not seem to be going away any time soon.

Prompted by St. Louis manager Tony La Russa, the umpires asked Rogers to clean off his left hand before the second inning. He wound up pitching eight shutout innings in a 3-1 victory that evened the World Series at one game each.

Rogers insisted mud, resin, spit and dirt was what everyone saw at the base of his left thumb.

La Russa isn't buying it.

"I don't believe it was dirt," La Russa said Monday. "Didn't look like dirt [from across the field."

Apparently, the Cardinals believe Rogers was scuffing balls, too.

"It was so blatant," St. Louis hitting coach Hal McRae said in a story USA TODAY published Tuesday. "What was so strange about it was how obvious it was [from my perspective across the field, after the game was over, and from what I read after the fact, since I didn't think it was obvious enough during the game to say something loudly, or suggest any sort of penal action be taken], in the World Series. It's a shame a guy would cheat in a World Series game. It hurts the integrity of the game.

"He wasn't just cheating by using pine tar; he was scuffing balls, too. We collected about five or six balls that are scuffed. He had to be using his fingernails or something."

I've highlighted the important words.  There's no proof because no one bothered to bother to get any.  Alligation after alligation, but no conclusive evidence.  I can say that Albert Pujols takes steroids too.  He has this incredible strength that no one else in the league has, and just pounds the ball, much like Barry Bonds did in 2002.  However, despite some stats that can support the allegation, there's no evidence to support it.  What you have with Rogers is a hand with something on it, but you cannot conclusively say what a substance is from across a diamond.  You need to, you know, examine it.

[Meddling Mike]

I can say that Albert Pujols takes steroids too.  He has this incredible strength that no one else in the league has

David Ortiz
AVG .287 | HR 54 | RBI 137  | OBP .413 | SLG .636

Albert Pujols
AVG .331 | HR 49 | RBI 137  | OBP .431 | SLG .671

idk JD, my man Ortiz seems to have better power numbers...100% natural

(Note that I'm not disagreeing with the actual point, but rather the bolded statement. Clearly the allegations made on Rogers have no definitive proof behind them. That said it was pretty sketchy.)

[Komatteru]

Sketchy, yes.  Conclusive? Hardly.  That's the point.  It may look suspicious, but there's just not any evidence to support a conclusion in either direction.  Thus, the only thing that can be said is "Kenny Rogers had an unknown substance on his hand."

idk JD, my man Ortiz seems to have better power numbers

Of the stats you cited, Ortiz leads only in homeruns.  Pujols is clearly the better hitter as evidenced by batting average, but Pujols also boasts a higher slugging percentage, likely due to a greater number of (extra base) hits.  Here's two more numbers you left off that are of interest:

Pujols: 535 AB, 92 BB
Ortiz: 558 AB, 119 BB

Ortiz's slugging percentage gets pumped up a little more by those extra walks, which almost offset the 50 more plate appearances he had.

[Dante]

The cardinals had their chance to actually do something about it - like when he was on the mound with shit on his hand.  Why Tony L never went out at the time to actually have the umps do something, who knows what goes on in that synaptic mess he calls a brain.

But I tell you this, if the Cardinals win, they will be the "worst" champs since....dunno, early 90's maybe?  When Jeff Suppan and Jeff Weaver figure prominently as your 2nd and 3rd starters, man (regular season ERA 4.12 and 5.18).  I know they both got hooked up to the revujenation machine for the last two couple games (what Sidney Ponson wasn't available, oh wait, they had him too), but ugh, what a bunch of 5th starters.

Ronnie Belliard must have eaten Isringhausen, what a fat turd.  Maybe you could play a little deeper, it's not a softball game.
Edmonds is possibly the most overrated defensive player alive.  The reason he makes so many highlight catches is because he gets a terrible jump (watch some of the replays EARLY in the play, you'll see, he runs in two steps then has to run back and dive).  The over-under on the number of pitches Preston Wilson makes contact with is 2 (that's per game, not at-bat). 

don't even get me started on the [biased and retarded] Tim McCarver, what a boob.

[Komatteru]

Eric Reyes is also a turd too, but the Tigers succeeded in making him look like an all-star.  I wouldn't expect a repeat performance.

Does anyone remember how Don Larson's previous start in game 2 went in the 1956 World Series?  He didn't make it past the second inning, giving up 4 runs on  4 walks.

[Anusien]

There are many substances that can be found on a baseball diamond that are brown.  Ball-rubbing mud, infidel dirt, dust on the ground, chewing tobacco residue, etc.

That's how I read it.

I try not to keep up with baseball after the All-Star break because that's when the Braves start losing.  However, fuck the Yankees, so go Tigers!

[Meddling Mike]

Sketchy, yes.  Conclusive? Hardly.  That's the point.  It may look suspicious, but there's just not any evidence to support a conclusion in either direction.  Thus, the only thing that can be said is "Kenny Rogers had an unknown substance on his hand."

idk JD, my man Ortiz seems to have better power numbers

Of the stats you cited, Ortiz leads only in homeruns.  Pujols is clearly the better hitter as evidenced by batting average, but Pujols also boasts a higher slugging percentage, likely due to a greater number of (extra base) hits.  Here's two more numbers you left off that are of interest:

Pujols: 535 AB, 92 BB
Ortiz: 558 AB, 119 BB

Ortiz's slugging percentage gets pumped up a little more by those extra walks, which almost offset the 50 more plate appearances he had.

Note that I specifically specified POWER numbers, the argument that Pujols is a better pure hitter based on these numbers is certainly valid.

David Ortiz has a first ballot hall of fame hitter behind him and he still gets walked more than Pujols!

You ever think that maybe it hurts his RBI's to be getting walked so often? I'm not going to even get into the new LIPS where David Ortiz is shown to be one of the best clutch hitters of all time.

I think it should also be taken into account that Pujols is hitting against clearly inferior NL pitching.

[Komatteru]

The thing about the RBIs is that Ortiz has more at bats, so the increased walks is irrelevant.  According to the rest of ESPN's infinite stats, Ortiz had 5 SFs and 0 bunts this year, which means that he had 558 + 119 + 5 = 682 plate appearances.  Pujols had 3 SFs and 0 bunts, making 535 + 92 + 3 = 630 plate appearances.  Ortiz got to come to the plate 50 more times than Pujols, which is pretty significant.

As for the lineups, Jim Edmonds and Scott Roland are no slouches either.

[kirdape3]

What actually gets me, is that Ortiz has 117 Ks.  Pujols... 50.  FIFTY!  Guys with 50 Ks don't get 535 ABs.  Ortiz had a pretty ridiculous year, but Pujols' year was utterly absurd.

And it STILL wasn't a career year.

[Toad]

Why is a National Championship called "World Series" ?

[Godder]

Apparently it's because when it started in the 19th century, it was the only baseball series anywhere, so it had a legitimate claim to World Series (or so they were saying on the radio this afternoon).

[Komatteru]

Real cute to all the people who voted for the Cardinals after they already won, or were up 3-1.  That defeats the whole point of a prediction....

Anyway, I wonder if Jim Leyland made his pitchers stay after the game to field ground balls and work on throwing to bases.  After a game in which we made a particularly high number of errors in the infield, my college coach made us stay after the game for an hour while he hit ground balls to us...

[Vegeta2711]

On the +side, the Tigers didn't suck this year. That's pretty amazing in of itself.

And the Cards become the team with the 2nd most WS wins. (1st is the Yanks and 3rd are the A's)

[Komatteru]

Why is a National Championship called "World Series" ?

Obviously because the United States is the only country that matters!    (Sadly, I think this was actually the line of thought when the names were given, and probably still holds.  People call the NBA Champ "World Champions" when the USA Basketball team could only manage 3rd at the World Championship tournament...)

[Godder]

As a side note, it also has Canadian teams, so it's not just a national championship.