2011 All Star Game

[jersey cubs fan]

yeah i know middle relievers are pretty obscure, but ones that are consistently good should be known if you follow baseball at all.

 

He's got 240 innings spread over 5 seasons in the majors, as a middle reliever. There's no reason why somebody who follows baseball to know who he is.

 

The vast majority of those innings have come in the past 3 years, and he's been very good. You probably wouldn't know who he is if you're a casual fan, but if you big enough into baseball to hang around message boards a lot you'd know who he is. Especially if you're a fan of an NL team.

 

He plays on the most inconsequential team in the league. I've heard of him because he was a Yankee, but I had no idea who he was playing for now. It's crazy to suggest somebody who follows baseaball has to know who he is.

[XZero771679666304]

yeah i know middle relievers are pretty obscure, but ones that are consistently good should be known if you follow baseball at all.

 

He's got 240 innings spread over 5 seasons in the majors, as a middle reliever. There's no reason why somebody who follows baseball to know who he is.

 

The vast majority of those innings have come in the past 3 years, and he's been very good. You probably wouldn't know who he is if you're a casual fan, but if you big enough into baseball to hang around message boards a lot you'd know who he is. Especially if you're a fan of an NL team.

 

He plays on the most inconsequential team in the league. I've heard of him because he was a Yankee, but I had no idea who he was playing for now. It's crazy to suggest somebody who follows baseaball has to know who he is.

 

No, it's not. Just because you don't pay as much attention as others doesn't make it "crazy" to assume most avid baseball fans would know one of the better setup men in the league.

 

I know who he is because he's faced us and our rivals quite a bit over the past couple years and he's been really [expletive] good, not because he was a Yankee for 5 minutes years ago.

[NonProfitCow]

yeah i know middle relievers are pretty obscure, but ones that are consistently good should be known if you follow baseball at all.

 

He's got 240 innings spread over 5 seasons in the majors, as a middle reliever. There's no reason why somebody who follows baseball to know who he is.

 

The vast majority of those innings have come in the past 3 years, and he's been very good. You probably wouldn't know who he is if you're a casual fan, but if you big enough into baseball to hang around message boards a lot you'd know who he is. Especially if you're a fan of an NL team.

The Cards play the Nationals 2 series a year spread months apart. I guess I really don't pay enough attention to the Nationals middle relief.

[jersey cubs fan]

No, it's not. Just because you don't pay as much attention as others doesn't make it "crazy" to assume most avid baseball fans would know one of the better setup men in the league.

 

I know who he is because he's faced us and our rivals quite a bit over the past couple years and he's been really [expletive] good, not because he was a Yankee for 5 minutes years ago.

 

What you are saying is that while following baseball I am doing it wrong because I don't know a random guy who you know. That's ridiculous. He's a middle reliever on an inconsequential team who plays the Cubs a couple times a year and has really only done so while the Cubs have been absolute crap. There's no reason why somebody has to have heard of him.

[XZero771679666304]

No, it's not. Just because you don't pay as much attention as others doesn't make it "crazy" to assume most avid baseball fans would know one of the better setup men in the league.

 

I know who he is because he's faced us and our rivals quite a bit over the past couple years and he's been really [expletive] good, not because he was a Yankee for 5 minutes years ago.

 

What you are saying is that while following baseball I am doing it wrong because I don't know a random guy who you know. That's ridiculous. He's a middle reliever on an inconsequential team who plays the Cubs a couple times a year and has really only done so while the Cubs have been absolute crap. There's no reason why somebody has to have heard of him.

 

I'm not the only one in this thread who found it odd. And I didn't say someone "had" to have heard of him, just that I was surprised an avid fan of NL baseball hadn't. I'd wager most people on this board have at least heard of Tyler Clippard. And he made the ASG as a setup man, so that's something.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

I've heard the name before, but I would have needed Google before this thread to tell you where he played, what position he played, and whether or not he was any good.

[ConstableRabbit]

I consider myself to be a pretty knowledgeable fan, and I've never heard of that guy.

[rocket]

I've heard the name before, but I would have needed Google before this thread to tell you where he played, what position he played, and whether or not he was any good.

 

same here

[UMFan83]

Tyler Clippard I definitely heard of.

 

Aaron Crow and David Robertson on the other hand, were new to me. A couple of other AL guys I had heard in passing, like I heard Alexi Ogando was doing well to start the year for Texas, but I never imagined he'd be an All Star this year. Same with Michael Pineda.

 

Just a lot of unfamiliar names on both rosters for the casual fans tuning in. I would guess most casual fans haven't heard of or aren't very familiar with:

 

Crow, Robertson, Ogando, Pineda, Walden, Avila, Gio Gonzalez, League, Chris Perez, Romero, Joyce, Clippard, Hanrahan, Kimbrel, Venters, Vogelsong, Montero, Castro.

 

There's nothing at all wrong with that. It's great that the young potential stars are getting exposure to the casual fan. It's just a lot of casual fans are going to wonder who the heck these guys are and where are players like Pujols, Wright, Santana, Hanley, etc are.

[SouthSideRyan]

Tyler Clippard I definitely heard of.

 

Aaron Crow and David Robertson on the other hand, were new to me. A couple of other AL guys I had heard in passing, like I heard Alexi Ogando was doing well to start the year for Texas, but I never imagined he'd be an All Star this year. Same with Michael Pineda.

 

Crow, Robertson, Ogando, Pineda, Walden, Avila, Gio Gonzalez, League, Chris Perez, Romero, Joyce, Clippard, Hanrahan, Kimbrel, Venters, Vogelsong, Montero, Castro.

 

 

I know Crow because he was a high draft pick. David Robertson, I only learned because I saw his absurd stats when he came on in relief vs. the Cubs. I was stunned that Avila was the leading vote getter at catcher, and still don't quite understand how this is happening with Joyce and Vogelsong.

[CubmanPi]

The Cubs had a game against Washington within the last couple seasons in which Washington's starter and both relievers had ERAs below 1.00 late enough into the season that it was crazy for Washington to be able to do that. Livon Hernandez, Tyler Clippard, and I believe Matt Capps were the three pitchers. All three displayed major pwnage of the Cubs in a cruise control victory for the Nats. Clippard has made several appearances against the Cubs since then, all while wearing uniquely bulky glasses. He definitely has been a standout among the many relievers the Cubs have seen over the last few years.

[Schwarber Fan]

ITT: I'm a better fan than you because you don't know who Tyler Clippard is.

[jersey cubs fan]

http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/global/swapper/201107/110711.07.jpg

 

Now I can get up for this game.

 

http://twitpic.com/5of888

[SouthSideRyan]

ITT: I'm a better fan than you because you don't know who Tyler Clippard is.

 

Just one of the many reasons I'm a better fan than you.

[imb]

i'm enjoying the bizarre notion that the nationals are the most inconsequential team in the league.

[radarluv1]

I consider myself to be a pretty knowledgeable fan, and I've never heard of that guy.

 

^^me too. i've paid less attention this year than i have in the last 10 or so.

 

so aramis was asked, but declined due to timing? and mccutcheon is in now, right?

[CubmanPi]

ITT: I'm a better fan than you because you don't know who Tyler Clippard is.

eff the Reed haters!!!

stones, glass houses, etc

[jersey cubs fan]

ITT: I'm a better fan than you because you don't know who Tyler Clippard is.

eff the Reed haters!!!

stones, glass houses, etc

 

Not sure what the comparison is.

[UMFan83]

http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/global/swapper/201107/110711.07.jpg

 

Now I can get up for this game.

 

http://twitpic.com/5of888

 

Is THAT Tyler Clippard?

[Schwarber Fan]

ITT: I'm a better fan than you because you don't know who Tyler Clippard is.

eff the Reed haters!!!

stones, glass houses, etc

 

Not sure what the comparison is.

 

Yeah, that's a bad example... but I'm sure I have done similar things in the past anyway.

 

But it is kind of ridiculous to derail a whole thread the way this one has gone.

[UMFan83]

ITT: I'm a better fan than you because you don't know who Tyler Clippard is.

eff the Reed haters!!!

stones, glass houses, etc

 

Not sure what the comparison is.

 

Yeah, that's a bad example... but I'm sure I have done similar things in the past anyway.

 

But it is kind of ridiculous to derail a whole thread the way this one has gone.

 

How has it been that derailed? I don't really get anyone thinking they are better than anyone else because they know who Tyler Clippard is, just that they are surprised that the one poster hadn't heard of him.

[Schwarber Fan]

ITT: I'm a better fan than you because you don't know who Tyler Clippard is.

eff the Reed haters!!!

stones, glass houses, etc

 

Not sure what the comparison is.

 

Yeah, that's a bad example... but I'm sure I have done similar things in the past anyway.

 

But it is kind of ridiculous to derail a whole thread the way this one has gone.

 

How has it been that derailed? I don't really get anyone thinking they are better than anyone else because they know who Tyler Clippard is, just that they are surprised that the one poster hadn't heard of him.

 

Well I think a better topic of conversation for this thread would be about the masses dropping out of the game, but that's just me I guess.

[CubmanPi]

If someone is officially named to a team but ends up not going for whatever reason, do the ASG incentives in their contracts still vest? I definitely agree with the aforementioned suggestions requiring participation if this game is still going to count.

 

Also, have there been any indications that either the fan voting or the WS HFA impact are going to go away? Because one of the two seriously need to go.

[UMFan83]

Well I think a better topic of conversation for this thread would be about the masses dropping out of the game, but that's just me I guess.

 

Then bring it up. The topic is 2011 All Star Game. This is a catch all thread. "I've never heard of this dude before" and "wow everyone is dropping out" can both be acceptable conversations.

[UMFan83]

If someone is officially named to a team but ends up not going for whatever reason, do the ASG incentives in their contracts still vest? I definitely agree with the aforementioned suggestions requiring participation if this game is still going to count.

 

Also, have there been any indications that either the fan voting or the WS HFA impact are going to go away? Because one of the two seriously need to go.

 

Yup, I believe so, which is probably the reason that Sabathia was added even though they knew he was going to pitch seconds later on Sunday and have to replace him with someone else. I think that was the stupidest thing of this whole mess. If that's the case Aramis should have accepted the nod and then immediately said "oww i am hurt, i cant play"