Father’s Day Open Thread

June 17, 2012 by Mike Axisa 89 Comments

Jeter celebrates after scoring during their MLB Interleague baseball game against the Washington Nationals in Washington — Yay wins. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

Happy Father’s Day to all of you dads out there. I know we have some long-time readers who became fathers for the first time within the last few months, so I hope you folks are enjoying the day. Hopefully all of you are spending the night with your dad and the family or have at least talked to him today; there’s a lot of us who can’t but wish we could.

Anyway, here is tonight’s open thread. The ESPN Sunday Night Game is the Red Sox at the Cubs (Morales vs. Maholm), a historic matchup between two last place teams. Game Three of the NBA Finals is also on (8pm ET on ABC), but talk about whatever your heart desires. Go nuts.

mike_h

Food tastes better after a 9 game winning streak
- Brian S.
  
  The trees look the perfect height after a 9 game winning streak.
  - OldYanksFan
    
    I DIDN’T say that!
  - The Scheister of Doom
    
    Gas prices seem acceptable after a nine game win streak.
    - Havok9120
      
      They’re under three bucks/gallon here.
      
      I’ll take it for now I guess.
Rob Has No Innings Limit

Shame that Tiger flamed out of the US Open so badly yesterday.
- Kevin G.
  
  So…
  
  ~~Dale Jr.~~
  Tiger
  LeBron
- Brian S.
  
  Golf is boring.
Hugh

OK. Here’s an interesting one, a propos of nothing much.

Have a look here at the clip on mlb.com of Soriano finishing the game. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2012_06_17_nyamlb_wasmlb_1&mode=video

At about 25 seconds: do you see ?ARod put his arm round Cano? Am I imagining a really abrupt rebuff with a face like thunder? Have I completely misread this on a very narrow view? Wouldn’t normally say anything, but it seemed kind of an unusual little scene…
- TomH
  
  Yep, looked like some sort of rebuff to me.
  - OldYanksFan
    
    More than a rebuff. Cano seemed really angry. What did ARod do???
    - TomH
      
      At one point during the game, the camera showed them chatting amiably enough in the dugout.
- Anon
  
  For some reason that link doesnt go directly to the Soriano clip that you are referring to (scroll down to see “Soriano closes out the win”) but I’m curious why Cano seemed so annoyed/mad at Arod’s congratulatory attempt
- yooboo
  
  Cano seemed in a bad mood because of heat issue. It is a just heat related mood swing, I hope.
- pat
  
  Hey I go to Barstool too!
- The Scheister of Doom
  
  I noticed this too, damn you Cano for F’in with the morale! Surely Doom will follow. Let us pray…
- LiterallyFigurative
  
  I noticed it too, but Cano and Alex DID high-five right after that. Hard to judge without seeing Cano’s face.
Brian S.

Go Cubs Go!
Brian S.

I LOVE seeing Pedroia with a .315 wOBA and 92 wRC+. Also Middlebrooks unsustainable-BABIP aided batting line is slowly coming down while also playing terrible defense. Good stuff.
- Tom
  
  I’m kind of hoping the Red Sox dump Youkilis because the bubble on Middlebrooks is about to burst and I would like to see him dealt before the Red Sox realize it.
  
  He struck out 25-30% in the minor and is ~25% in the bigs. He doesn’t walk, ~5% (which is in the range he had in the minors). And when that .360 BABIP drops to a more normal .310-330, he might end up in the .250 AVG, sub .300 OBP range. His OPS already has fallen to ~.810 and it may potentially lose another 100points if the BABIP corrects.
  
  His defense was never considered good, and I think people confused the potential ceiling to be average defensively with him actually being average defensively (not that Youkilis is any better at this point in his career)
Brian S.

Jose Quintana had a 1.98 ERA/3.64 FIP coming into today’s game in which he threw eight scoreless innings. Hmmmm.
- Jesse
  
  Shoulda kept.
TomH

I’m trying to tamp down any sign of greed because the baseball gods hear even the slightest whispers. When I was a kid, ca. 1953 I think, they ran of 18 in a row, followed shortly thereafter by a 9-game losing streak. Still, it would be….
Monterowasnotdinero

Great game-another great win. Didn’t get to meet Mike but that was the only disappointment of the game.

Andruw Jones still has a helluva arm.
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  Sorry about that. I didn’t get to meet a lot of people this weekend. Nothing personal.
  - Monterowasnotdinero
    
    There will be other times. My best hope would be a Yankee-National WS.
mustang

I been reading around trying to see if there any rumors about available OF and I came across this:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1217751-2012-mlb-trade-deadline-5-players-guaranteed-to-be-traded/page/3

I truly doubt that this will happen, but I must ask you guys what do you think it would take or what would you be willing to give up for Melky Cabrera.

RAB would go crazy if this came into the realm reality that alone would make it worth it.
- mustang
  
  BTW- Hated Tuner Field and loooooved National Park.
- OldYanksFan
  
  I have no doubt Melkdud has matured and is a better player than we, or the Brave saw. But he is playing way over his head, and regardless of his career numbers, will sell HIGH. He would cost WAY too much, and I can’t see the Giants letting him go. That would be like throwing in the towel.
  - mustang
    
    You’re probably right, but it’s too bad because he would be a great fit.
- Brian S.
  
  Mustelier and Cockerson are our outfield help. We don’t need to trade for anyone.
  - mustang
    
    Yeah… ok then.
- Robinson Tilapia
  
  I love Melky. I’m not trading anything near what it would take to get him, nor do I do think the team should be in any rush to acquire anything beyond depth. What they have have held down the fort just fine.
- http://www.yankeeanalysts.com Mike E
  
  It makes no sense. Giants would never trade their best offensive player away while competing for the playoffs. On top of that, the Yankees need an outfielder to replace Swisher next year as well. If they’re gonna trade players away, they might as well get someone who will be around for a while and is cheap enough for the 2014 budget.
RI$P FTW

Why does Kevin Millar always yell ‘c0ck meat’ in those MLBN promos?
Is that his catch phrase?
- Pat D
  
  Dude, I’m still trying to figure out why people think Millar is funny or intelligent or knows shit about baseball, and why he has the job he has.
  
  So, naturally, I’m nowhere close to finding the answer to your query.
  - Rainbow connection
    
    Yeah, he’s a dope.
  - JohnnyC
    
    He was an idiot with the Sox. And an inordinate number of people who work for MLB Net and ESPN are Sox fans, including executives and producers.
- Brian S.
  
  Yes.
DERP

So how many games would Charleston win in the National League. I’m thinking like 90 at a minimum.
- Havok9120
  
  Nah. Half those guys probably can’t quite hit a decent breaking ball yet.
- Robinson Tilapia
  
  Yankee/Charleston World Series, of course.
- JohnnyC
  
  Charleston is in 3rd place in their division. They don’t actually win as many games as you think they do.
  - vicki
    
    missed the point by a little.
DERP

I hope everyone who went to DC enjoyed the metro.
Monterowasnotdinero

After the game, little kids (under 10 or so) ran the bases and then went into the of to have a catch with their dad for Father’s Day.

Nice touch.
- Havok9120
  
  That’s pretty cool.
Kramerica Industries

None of you guys care, but…

I was annihilating my opponent this week in fantasy, and decided to say fuck it and picked up a whole bunch of starters today, for shits and giggles sake.

I had Wainwright, Felix and Scherzer, already, and added Garrett Richards, Wei-Yin Chen, and Franklin Morales. My closers are Paps, Soriano, and Johnson.

Overall line today, sans Morales: 40 IP, 28 H, 2 ER, 39 K, 10 BB, 3-0, 2 SV

That’s a .45 ERA and .95 WHIP. 142 points overall by my league’s scoring.

Unreal!!
- Havok9120
  
  Is there not a limit on starters?
  - Kramerica Industries
    
    There is a 12 start limit, but there is a loophole that can be exploited if it isn’t reached by Sunday.
    
    I had 9/12 starts finished after yesterday. So I could have as many as I wanted today. If I had 12/12 after yesterday, none of them would count today.
  - vicki
    
    and did noone in your league have matt cain? did matt cain not win the week for his every owner?
Brian S.

Paul Malholm fucking sucks.
Kevin

Boston lucked out by playing the worse team in baseball. The fact the Cubs were able to pull out one win is amazing to me.
- Havok9120
  
  Um. Is ESPN broken, or is the game still 2-1? I mean…I know its the Cubs, but 1 run is hardly insurmountable. Don’t give up hope!
  - Tom
    
    The midget just dropped another pop up (he’s done that a few times).
    
    Cue ESPN talking about his hand bothering… and on cue Orel is asking if it is a hit or error?
Robinson Tilapia

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads here for sure. Felt just great to experience my first one day. Even got very close to hearing some first words today. Walking seems like it’s happening any day now.

This may have been dkidd’s first Father’s Day as well on here. I raise my glass to him and any other first-time dads I missed.
- Havok9120
  
  Congrats man. Here’s to many more happy Father’s Days for you.
  - Robinson Tilapia
    
    Thanks, dude.
- forensic
  
  Yup, me too. Our little guy is really starting to get the crawling thing down and he loves being on his feet so walking could be anytime soon too. He even came out and helped us pick out some new furniture today.
- mustang
  
  Thank you and it only gets better when they are a little older. I have two 3 and 8 they are my world.
  
  Congrats it gets so much better after the diaper stage.
- jjyank
  
  Congrats! Hope you and all the other dads out there enjoyed your day. You guys do wonders. I know I’d probably be broke by now if it wasn’t for my dad’s financial advice haha :P
  
  Once your son gets talking out of the way, you can start working on his pitches from the left side!
- Pat D
  
  I hope my brother-in-law was able to enjoy his first Father’s Day, but considering the issues he and my sister are having trying to sell their house and then find a new place, topped off by my niece being sick this week, it probably felt a little hectic.
  - mustang
    
    “he and my sister are having trying to sell their house and then find a new place”
    
    In the same boat the whole process really sucks, but the idea of watching my kids play in our backyard someday keeps me going. Serious if it wasn’t for that I would just be fine living the rest of my in our condo.
- forensic
  
  Oh, and Happy Fathers Day to you and all the other dad’s here too!
  
  My bad, ran off to have some dinner.
  - Havok9120
    
    HOW DARE YOU??!
    
    Happy Father’s Day to you. :)
Monterowasnotdinero

I have 3 kids and am.. ummm… a bit older than the average commenter here. My youngest was smart enough to position himself by the dugout before the game and got the ever-accommodating Grandyman to sign a baseball.

Living a second baseball childhood is one of the best things about fatherhood.
- mustang
  
  “Living a second baseball childhood is one of the best things about fatherhood.”
  
  Agree 100%
  
  Watching them enjoy all the experiences that I didn’t have as I child is truly priceless.
  - mustang
    
    a not I
- Havok9120
  
  Yeah, I noticed Granderson signed a ball and threw it to someone waiting by the dugout on TBS. I thought that was pretty awesome.
Kramerica Industries

The Yankees have won nine straight games. Their numbers with RISP in that time?

16-77, .208

They are 47 of their last 274, a .172 average. The fact that the Yankees have, somehow, won 19 of 23 despite such wretched numbers is a great testament to how good the pitching staff has been, but remains worrying.

It’s June 17. The idea of “evening out” is becoming farer and farer fetched. It would take an incredible run from here on out to get to league average numbers. And no pitching staff in the world can continue to be this good forever, and the timely home runs won’t keep coming.

I mean, this is why baseball makes no sense. This offense is just as inopportune as its been all season.
- jjyank
  
  I don’t think it’s far fetched at all. It is a testament to good pitching, yes, but also how many homers the team hits.
  
  RISPFAL is frustrating, but I am still confident they will go on a RISP tear some point soon.
  - Kramerica Industries
    
    But at what point does the worm turn?
    
    274 at bats accounts for almost exactly half of their at bats with RISP this season (551 in total). They were hitting .260 in the first half, which would be league average by itself, but with this team’s power and discipline, would be tolerable.
    
    But .172 is horrendous in every shape and form.
    
    Entering today, they were .221 overall, which is 15 points worse than friggen Seattle for 13th in the AL. It’s almost impossible to explain that this point.
- Brian S.
  
  Our pitching is the reason we are winning. Our pitching rocks.
- mustang
  
  Agree. I still think they need a OF bat of some kind maybe that would help.
- stuckey
  
  Yankees have the best record in the AL. They have no ground to make up in the only statistic that matters. They don’t need to “even out” to eventually get to league average. They simply have to concern themselves with winning roughly 55-56 of their next 97 games.
  
  Simply hitting league-average over those 97 games (and thereby finishing below league average for the year) will probably due just fine and they probably don’t even have to do that.
  
  The postseason is another story.
  - mustang
    
    “The postseason is another story.”
    
    And there is the problem because Yankees pitchers will be facing better hitting line-ups while the Yankees offend is probably still leaving RISP.
    - Jim Is Bored
      
      Which far better hitting lineups? Texas is literally the only lineup in the AL that scares me, and I guess STL and CIN in the NL?
- Monterowasnotdinero
  
  We are obviously doing so well because Russell Martin has approached and even passed the Mendoza line.
  
  Didn’t check yesterday’s avg after his collar though.
  - forensic
    
    .199 after his 0-6.
    - Monterowasnotdinero
      
      Must be all that crouching. I read the article!
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  It’s almost as if AVG with RISP isn’t as meaningful as everyone wants to believe.
- mustang
  
  “We’re still not happy about that,” said Mark Teixeira, who went 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. “I wish I could tell you the issue. We just have to be better at hitting with runners in scoring position. We can talk about offense all we want; the fact is our pitching staff is why we are here today.”
  
  At least they know its a problem.
- 28 this year
  
  The idea of evening out doesn’t mean they will reach league average necessarily. It means that its likely that they will be average here on out. Whats done is done. Just because you flip heads 10 times in a row doesn’t change the odds going forward. What happens is that you will be at whatever your level of average is going forward and so your numbers will go up. Not necessarily all teh way up to league average but just average from here on out.
- Rob
  
  at the same time it’s awesome and scary to think what the offense and team will look like when the hits with RISP start to come. They will improve, and have those big games, even if the overall #s are still below pre-season expectations at year end.
Itishighitisfaritisgonerightyouarejohn

Redsox giving away cubs game.
mike_h

come on Cubs, win one!!!
- forensic
  
  They won Friday’s game. With how terrible they are it’s almost unrealistic to expect them to win a series.
pat

Wow Westbrook’s midrange jumper has become deadly.
Midland TX

Ibanez has made enough PAs thus far to earn $400K in incentives on top of his $1.1MM base salary. Still a pretty good deal.