Open Thread: USA FTW
By
Team USA has their backs against the proverbial walls in the WBC tonight, facing elimination after being mercy ruled by Puerto Rico last night. Their opponent: those gutty, gritty, pesky, playing the game the right way Netherlandians. I’m sure you remember that this is the same Netherlands team that send the Dominican Republic home with their tail between their piernas.
Roy Oswalt gets the ball in the elimination game, and of the four starters on the team, he’s the one I feel most comfortable with in a win or go home situation. Team mascot Dustin Pedroia is officially out of the tournament with an oblique strain and has been replaced by the Orioles’ Brian Roberts. It looks like the Netherlands is sending Marlins’ farmhand Rick VandenHurk to mound since staff ace Sidney Ponson (hah) threw yesterday. VandenHurk was the World Team’s starter in the 2007 Futures Game, and has a 6.96 ERA in 95.2 big league innings.
ESPN2 is carrying the game; first pitch is scheduled for 7:30. Chat about that, or anything else on your mind here. Oh, I also want to mention that Chase Utley is making his spring debut tonight, less than four months after having the same surgery to repair a torn hip labrum that A-Rod will eventually have. I guess that’s a good sign. Anyway, enjoy the game.
Update (7:49pm): If you’re bored on this somewhat lame feeling Sunday night, Brian Foley at The College Baseball Blog is going to be chatting at 9pm. Head over and ask him how awesome Steven Strasburg is or how long he thinks it’ll be until Gerrit Cole blows out his labrum (12 K in 5 IP last night). I keed, I keed.
Photo Credit: Hans Deryk, Reuters Pictures
90 Comments»
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Utley is gritty and gutty and certainly worked harder in rehab than that lazy, steroid using s.o.b. A-Rod. We’ll be lucky if he’s back in 8 weeks.
Utley is gritty and gutty and dreamy and certainly worked harder in rehab than that lazy, steroid using s.o.b. A-Rod. We’ll be lucky if he’s back in 8 weeks.
Fixed.
I want Jeter back so…LET’S GO NETHERLANDS!
/anti-WBC fervor.
You must be…A COMMUNIST!
That was a shot at Jeter.
I feel the need to point out that I am half dutch. That is all.
Personally, I wouldn’t go around telling people this.
Why would you? You’re not half Dutch!
http://sadtrombone.com/
Or am I?
:O
Are you?
No. Thank God.
Pedroia is out for life.
Actually, A-rod wont have the same surgery as Utley. He will have the bone deformation repaired as he’s already gotten the labrum repaired. So, the rehab will be shorter significantly.
Anyways, Manny aggravated his hammy while playing OF for the 1st time this year. Sucks for the Dodgers…
Right, Alex will have the full surgery that Utley had after the season. What he’s getting done now is a temporary fix.
What’s weird is that Chipper is also out with a strained oblique. I wonder what they’ve been doing…
I was playing around in MLB 09 The Show just offering random trades proposals for Joe Mauer…and I stumbled upon the Twins accepting a trade for Jorge Posada and Kelly Johnson (who I got from the Braves in a previous trade) in exchange for Mauer. I hesitated in taking it because I felt so bad…lol.
Anyway, happy to see Posada back behind the plate in real life.
BTW, Manny is hurt…http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com.....8;c_id=mlb
“Age is catching up to me, maybe it’s a bad investment. I just have to be patient, that’s what I’ve got to do. Only God knows what’s best for me. I have to just try to get healthy.”
just posted the manny injury a little while back
sorry…
Dude, I played a 21 inning game in The Show on Friday. I was the Padres playing the Giants at home. Mike Adams blew the save in the 9th (Bell was toast after throwing three innings the night before). They scored in the top of the 16th, but I tied it in the bottom half on a Scott Hairston infield single. I loaded the bases with one out in the 21st, the pitcher was up (bench was empty), so I intentionally stuck out (or walked, but Noah Lowry threw three strikes before he threw four balls) with him to keep from GIDPing. Edgar Gonzalez grounded a ball back up the middle for the walk-off. It was insane.
I ended up using my starter for the next day for 6 innings and had to call someone up to start the next game. That was three games ago in my franchise, and I’m still trying to deal with all the exhausted players and relievers.
Holy shit. And I thought my 13 inning job (walk off with Johnny Damon) was epic.
you guys know that none of it is real, right?
I push the button and the players react. That’s real enough for me.
What he said.
i’m just messin’ around.
Awesome.
I understand how annoying it is to deal with the exhausted players, and I haven’t even played passed the 12th. Teixeira is also tired in my game, its pretty annoying since he is a guy who plays 162 games a year in real life.
It’s actually not that bad in the NL because double switches and stuff give the players a little rest, plus I do platoon quite a bit with the Pads sorry ass roster. Adrian Gonzalez and Kevin Kouzmanoff play every day and I don’t have a need to PH for them ever, so they get tired every now and ten.
That game though … all hell broke loose after that.
Ya are very lucky to have that game while i am stuck playing mlb 2k9 y couldn’t xbox have this game. The game is not that bad like people say but to many damn home runs and some dumb errors but i played the show in best buys and i was amazed.
How is MLB 2K9 anyways? Is there Arbitration? 40- man rosters? How does the minor leagues work?
Well i bought the game on thursday and i was looking around it doesnt have the 40-man roster.in the minors they only have the players that were actually in the major leagues like angel Berroa and Alfredo Aceves and players like that to many home runs is so easy to smack homers in one game i hit 14 home runs so i had to lower the rate of home runs in difficulty the graphics are ok there way better then the past and the errors i mentioned are dumb because in a routine ground ball for sum reason the first baseman leaves the bag so those are sum of the bad glitches in the game.But to me its a pretty decent game.
How’s the offseason, draft, free agency, etc.
When I played 2K7, it seemed that every homer was robbed. I also found it real easy to strike dudes out–like between 10-15 a game. But, then I got the show for the last two years and it’s much better.
Matt yea that’s true,i used to get robbed all the time even though i still used to hit a lot of home runs.that’s the thing i don’t like about 2k to many home runs.
One thing i don’t like is the unrealistic off-seasons. I would like fair trades with an occasional steal, free agents to weigh playing time and money, realistic drafts, control of the minor leagues, 40-man rosters realistic gameplay and more into one game.
One thing i like the living rosters it updates every other day so im updated in every recent trade or fee agent signing.
From AP:
Because there is no DH for the Yankees’ road game against Houston on Wednesday, RHP Chien-Ming Wang might pitch in a minor league game instead. Wang missed the final 3½ months last season after hurting his foot running the bases in an interleague game last June against the Astros.
lazy Taiwanese
John they probably tell him to stand up there and don’t swing.
can’t they just tell him to take 3 strikes without swinging? seems like a pretty easy “problem” to fix.
I never understood why the team doesn’t just take the out. Why even send him up there?
I Noe is wrong to not root for team USA but i want them to lose, i want Jeter back in spring training.
know problem
Zach Kroenke will be coming back this week.
I’m not so sure about that, Taylor Tankersly(sp?) has been horrible. I do think he’ll come back, but not in the next week. He still seems least likely to come back though.
Wouldn’t it be funny if Jason Jones came back from the Twins? I think it would.
Ivan Nova probably comes back, as does Reegie Corona.
He has given up 7 runs in 1 inning of work. giving up 4 hits and 4 walks. He will be back this week.
Rollins has no range.
That play, or lack thereof, by Rollins was obviously a shot at Jeter.
Another shot at Jeter, with that play by Rollins.
VCU, Western Kentuckey 1st round upsets…
Is there going to be a RAB MM bracket?
Is Pedro Gomez openly gay?
Not that there is anything wrong with it.
Damn, forgot to look outside for the shuttle launch, you see anything Andy?
When is it going off?
30 mins ago. lol
No. I forgot. Oh well.
Was that Rollins HR a shot at Jeter?
Rollins with a THIRD shot at Jeter in an inning.
Also: Chattanooga, prepare to be shat on by theJeff Adrien.
A-Rod was just quoted as saying “I wish Rollins was leading off on our team or playing on our team. That’s fun to watch.”
Fantasy draft in about 45 minutes. Woo!
Either the announcer or Ausmus has no idea what the “Bugs Bunny” concept is–and it also applies to changeups, not curveballs.
that’s when you throw one pitch and the batter swings 3 times at it then the next 2 batters come up and also swing 3 times before the ball gets to the catcher right?
i’ve seen Melvin Croussett throw it a few times.
Who do you think invented the pitch, went back in time, and sold the idea to Warner Bros. for Bugs to do? Melvin, baby. Melvin.
He went back in time in a Delorean, and then sold it to Doc Brown.
Some gold glove Youk
What type of deal do you think Jason BAy is looking at if he hits the market? I say 5/90.
He’s not getting that in this market. Maybe 4/50 if he’s lucky.
I was refering to next offseason. But really? I would think he gets more even in this market, he’s a top talent and they get theirs. Although the same can’t be said for Dunn, Abreu, etc. He’s a better talent then those listed above, although not as good as Teixera, Sabathia, and Burnette.
Burnett*
Okay, you win, 5/70.
Dunn and Bay have pretty similar numbers, and Dunn is a year younger, so he will have hit free agency two years younger than Bay. Both are poor defensively, but Bay is better on the basepaths. Bay is better all around, but not appreciably so. I would bet Bay gets a bit more AAV and some extra years.
Dunn was a free agent this offseason, while Bay is a free agent next offseason. I expext atleast some kind of economic rebound thus the higher deal for Bay. Further, next years FA crop is not inspiring, Bay, Manny, and Holliday are the best offensive threats.
Bay is a good player, but he will be on the wrong side of 30 next season, and his defense is poor. He is not getting 18M a year. I think Mike is closer on AAV, although a 5th year may be possible.
Another shot at Derek Jeter by Jimmy Rollins. What a jerk.
Good old back to back triples
Is Melvin Crousett in the The Show?
or would his capabilities overload the circuits of the PS3?
Rick Suttcliffe just said taking a walk with a man on third and less than two outs is “selfish” and that’s not how Jeter plays and it’s not “winning baseball.”
Is he drunk again?
Dunno if you’re kidding around or something, if you are ignore. But he said most players are selfish with a runner on third and would not take the walk, but by Jeter doing so he was demonstrating experience and leadership that lead to winning baseball games. Maybe you heard wrong
I heard the same thing you heard, he was commending Jeter for his patience and team first attitude.
The Looooove boat, exciting and new. . . . .
http://www.theyankeeuniverse.com/?p=1591
Sounds romantic.
It is either “Love! Exciting and new!” or “The Loooove Boat! Soon we’ll be making another run.”.
Should Jeter be considered half gritty on his mother’s side?
Bravo.
I know I’ve linked this a couple times before, but it fits here.
http://www.sportspickle.com/fe.....-race.html
Hilarious article http://www.serioussportsnewsne.....ating.html
“scrapleticism”
lol
Hey from Tampa all!!
Was outside a restaurant waiting to be seated last night and who walks by? David Cone..he was nice enough to talk for a few minutes and pose for a pic with me & my daughter. It was way cool!
http://www.facebook.com/photo......=654373393
cool, hope you’re having fun over there, you’re only an hour and a half from me (I’m in Orlando). Have you checked out any games or Busch Gardens?
NICE.
Whats the deal with Korean players coming over? Can they be posted for like Japanese players, or does it just not really happen?