ALDS Game 4: Rays @ ChiSox
ByAfter they’re finished hitting each other in the face with bats, the Rays will look to close out the first playoff series win in franchise history tonight. Chicago escaped certain doom yesterday, pouncing on Matt Garza’s mistakes and getting timely hits, but will they be so lucky tonight? Andy Sonnanstine doesn’t strike fear into the heart of anyone, but the dude’s one ballsy pitcher. Gavin Floyd’s been a bust since age 22, so I’m sure he won’t be effective tonight, or ever in the future.
Comment away on the game here, although I’m sure we’re all saving our energy for tonight’s Lester-Lackey deathmatch in the Fens.
Tampa Bay
1. Akinori Iwamura, 2B
2. Bossman Junior, CF
3. Carlos Pena, 1B
4. Don’t call me Eva Longoria, 3B
5. Carl Crawford, LF
6. Clifford Floyd. DH
7. Dioner Navarro, C
8. Gabe Gross, RF
9. The Team MVP, SS
- Andy Sonnanstine, P (13-9, 4.38)
Chicago
1. Orlando Cabrera, SS
2. AJ Pierzynski, C
3. Jermaine You Dye Now!, RF
4. Jim Thome, DH
5. Paul Konerko, 1B
6. The Kid, CF
7. Alexei Ramirez, 2B
8. DeWayne Wise, LF
9. Juan Uribe, 3B
- Gavin Floyd, P (17-8, 3.84)
AJ batting 2nd? interesting
Is there anybody who is not a fan of the Upton brothers?
I dunno, the Drew brothers? The Hairston brothers? The Weaver brothers?
doobie brothers
Jonas Brothers.
not me. they can flat out play
GAVIN FLOYD IS TEH BUST!!onehundredeleven!1!!!
harold reynolds just said something that raises a question: is it possible for a team to have great pitching and lousy defense?
Yup.
That’s an interesting question. I will say yes, it’s possible. Just unlikely.
A good defense makes a good pitching staff great.
any teams come to mind?
You know we have a “reply” button for comments, right? Then you can comment right under the one you’re referencing. It’ll make life easier.
sorry. i’m all for an easy life
I don’t know about a staff, but Garland surely benefited from the Angels D.
Not to simplify it, but can’t you just look at it statistically? Meaning, the team with the highest difference between their respective ERA and DIPS numbers would answer your question, no?
what is DIPS?
never mind. looked it up.
I’ mi a little confused by your question. Are you asking if a team can have good pitching despite having a horrid defense; or are you asking whether a team can be good at run prevention despite having a bad defense?
If it’s the latter, DIPS would be pretty useless. To answer you’re question, I don’t think so, unless that team has an entire pitching staff with that can strike guys out, and not walk anyone.
i guess i was asking to what degree a bad defense is able to undermine a strong pitching staff and vice versa? how much is team pitching and team defense related? kind of a chicken and egg question…
The White Sox will win and send the series back to Tampa. Go Griffey!
I must say that Reynolds’ argument yesterday that taking Griffey out of the lineup after the 6th inning was costing leading to the Sox’s late-game scoring problems was kind f silly. The guy’s just not really a force any more. And the Rays pen is pretty good.
I’m glad Floyd broke out once he left Philly. I was kinda hoping Brett Myers would continue his slide and get traded this offseason. I think he could be a major force in someone’s rotation. Guess he’s going to stay in Philly now.
Yessir.
wow what a short quick swing
Let’s see if he can homer to RF in his next at-bat. That could be cool, a homer to each field.
Didn’t A-Rod do that in his 3-HR, 10-RBI game in 2005?
No. ARod never did anything cool or good, ever.
Or clutch. Or gritty.
he gets jammed and hits it 400 feet into the wind
wow
Jason Bartlett is far from being the mvp of the Rays…Just wanted to throw that out there
If you ignore any metric of offensive production other than “seems, according to my selective memory, to always get hits when it counts” and consider “veteran leadership”, “playing the game right”, and defensive prowess as the sole arbiters of value…then, yeah, sure. He is.
Why? Did anyone contend that he was?
yes, the tampa bay sports writers
He’s the best Bartlett in history, though. No way in hell could the Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations dude ever put up a .286/.329/.361…
What about Maryland Rep. Roscoe Bartlett??
http://bartlett.house.gov/
Nah. Roscoe Bartlett’s fastball was 82mph, tops.
Dude, Andy Sonnanstine is only throwing 86. He’ll never be a good pitcher, especially in the AL East.
Agreed. We should trade Ian Kennedy for Amborix Burgos.
Hey, Burgos does the little things that help you win games, like hit and run.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWW TOO SOON???
hahaha, i know u’ve been waiting a long time for someone to drop his name just so you can use that line
Hey Mike, you think Phil Coke can have the type of season like JP Howell is having?
You know, he just might be able to, but it’s unlikely. Howell had a ridiculous year, almost 90 innings of 1.12 WHIP and 9.27 Kper9 from the left side. That’s as good as it gets.
Coke will be a notch or two below that, it’s almost inevitable, but if all clicks…
With his increased velocity, and all things considered, what is his ceiling as a starter? Are we still talking about a fringe, back-end guy; or a number three ceiling?
He’s still a back-end guy. He won’t throw as hard when he’s pacing 6 innings, and he’s already 26, there’s not much room for growth there. There’s nothing wrong with being a back-end starter in the bigs, he can make lots and lots of money doing that.
is it safe to say we missed the boat cutting carlos pena? 19HR 66RBI .370 obp with good D in scranton in 06
The Rangers, A’s, Tigers and BoSox also missed out on him, don’t feel bad.
i knoww but he got all crazy good the next season
Dude, don’t feel too bad. Mike Piazza wouldn’t have been drafted in today’s draft format.
i know he was drafted as a favor pretty much but why wouldn’t it have happened?
In 1988, Mike Piazza was drafted in the sixty-second round. There are only fifty rounds nowadays.
is there a cap for rounds? i thought teams just decide when to stop picking? I know that sounds pretty arbitrary but i thought i heard that during the draft?
anyone watching the shea stadium farewell? is it just me? or are there a lot of empty seats?
Is that the same one they had after the last game? You know, the last game that they lost to choke their way out of the playoffs?
ohh sorry idk, i thought this was live
the only way i would watch would be if at the end someone pushed a comically large T shaped handle into an also comically large box with wires leading into the staduim leading to the implosion of shea stadium and surrounding area
It was right after the game ended, so it’s understandable that some people wanted to get as far from Shea Stadium as possible.
side note: I would love to see ozzie guillen in Ny, every day would be a field day
Heh, Harold Reynolds just got owned.
Boston dropped Lowell off their playoff roster due to injury. Gil Velazquez (?) takes his place.
Just saw that Joseph linked to this sabernomics post over at mlbtraderumors.com today: http://www.sabernomics.com/sab.....athia-get/
Sabathia – 6 years/$144 million. Assuming the Yanks can make that deal, you guys go for it? I vote yes (pretty emphatically). 6 years is tough, but it’s his age 28-33 seasons. The money doesn’t much concern me, nothing you can do about that aspect of it.
6 years, would be an excellent period of time
Eh, I’d rather five and some overloaded annuals.
Well of course 5 would be better, but the Yankees won’t be bidding against themselves. Would you do 6 years? Say it’s going to take 7 or he signs elsewhere, do you go 7?
Also… I think we tend to go a little overboard when we say things like “I’d rather do fewer years for more money per season.” Think about what that actually means in a situation like CC’s free agency. Say, hypothetically, he can get 6/144. That’s $24 million/year. If you want to go 5 you’ve got to give him enough money over those 5 years that it’s more attractive to CC than taking 6/144 elsewhere. Are you willing to bump the annual salary up to $27, $28 million? Even if you were willing to do that, would the player find that more attractive than the longer-term deal (assuming you’re going to pay him less money over the course of the contract)? I’m thinking on my feet here, not sure where I come down on this. My point is just that in reality it’s not as easy as just saying “well we’ll just pay you more per season over fewer seasons.”
thats why we elected you congressman mondesi, to think on your feet.
I’d do it, but I’m not remotely qualified to be GM of a Major League franchise. There’s a reason I’m a congressman and not a general manager.
pssst… there is no Congressional district for Governor’s Island. This was supposed to be a ceremonial thing, we thought it was spelled out to you in the certificate that said “Burger King” in the bottom right hand corner…
You’re taking this appointment a bit too seriously.
Don’t make Raul angry. You won’t like Raul when he’s angry.
i’d pay more per season for less years as insurance against him breaking down in year 3 and being stuck with an untradable player for 5-6 years
whether he would agree to this is a separate question
6 years would be great. fear it’s not going to happen. if i’m the yanks, i’d rather pay more $ per year for less years
again – reply link is there for a reason and is your friend.
joey gathwright for j.p.howell: nice trade
i wish they made alligator skin softball gloves cuz i’d own one.
Congrads TB.
Zim! Nice.
i think they beat either boston or anaheim
“rays fans are paryting tonight in saint petsersburg”
It’s a trick: everyone know there are no Rays fans.
russia?
yup