seanimal

So uh, for those of us in Southern Illinois who don't have the pleasure of receiving Comcast SN, what exactly is going on in the game these days?

So is the general consensus here the Pie would benefit more from getting regular AB's in AAA rather than scarcely distributed AB's at the ML level, hoping that Jones either gets traded or breaks his whatever bone?

Second. Lets hope the Dawgs bust some brackets.

I don't think it should be THAT black and white, but I do understand what you are saying. There are times that the pitcher really isn't to blame for the runs that score, so I still want a little accuracy when viewing the stats of a game. Differentiating between ERA and runs given up in general are useful stats, but don't really tell the whole story. As a team, yes, all runs scored count. No doubt. Doesn't matter how they score. Yes, while all runs count, it is a little too black and white to charge every run to the pitcher on the mound, because that would be a false story as well. Like Stoney once said during a rain delay soliloquy, "Baseball, like life, is a collection of shades of gray."

I can't imagine that he would be upset about this decision. If he did make it, he has to know that his playing time would be limited considering how many MLB outfielders are already in camp. If the Cubs didn't have Ward and Jones, and the Cubs went with Buck Coats and Angel Pagan, I could see some reason to be upset. As well as Pie is doing in ST, I can't imagine he could outproduce any of Floyd, Murton, Soriano or Jones in his inaugural season in the big leagues. In fact, I'd lay some money down that he couldn't. And I'm a pretty big Pie fan. Let him play everyday in Iowa and make the decision of whether to trade Jones at the deadline for a midseason call up a very tough one for Hendry and Piniella. Yeah, hopefully the deadline trade involving Jacque will be putting him in pinstripes of a slightly darker shade for a certain you-know-who.

Right on, thanks for the clarification. Regardless, I still believe that Woody had a much better outing than this line score would lead others to deduce.

Isn't a hit batsmen an unearned run, just like a walk? I assumed the same applies to someone who is K'd and gets to 1st base on a wild pitch/passed ball. I guess I just hold a strict definition as to what an earned run is, meaning it's actually earned.

So I was following the thread on today's (3/8) game against the Comrades and there was quite the discussion as to whether or not Kerry Wood earned 0 or 1 runs when he gave up the grand slam. However, according to Carrie Muskat and MLB.com, Now, I can understand both of the arguments as to why Woody should have been charged either zero or one run, and considering there's an error that wasn't charged, two runs. But all four? Especially when there's only two hits charged to Wood. How can this be?

I believe the literal translation is "clones of Macias I will make with which to replace you"

Typical.

Man I hate SI. :x

I use 'Matt the bat' prior to his first swing, and 'Murton for certain' when he comes through. I'll stick to these cause I'm pretty superstitious.

I second that. Perhaps caps under the batting helmets as well. And no goalie masks for catchers.

This is worse than when my girlfriend dumped me.

I would also not use instant replay. The human element is one of the things that makes baseball unique. Besides, what good are umps unless you can blame your team's loss on them?

1) Eliminate the DH. I would do this for several reasons. It was first instituted to make the American League more competetive with the National League. Well now it has, and is sucking a lot of good players out of the NL. The American League is essentially an pre-retirement for old power hitters who have no business being in the game if they can no longer toil on both sides of the ball. Plus, playing with designated hitters is not baseball. Baseball is this awesome game where everyone who plays the field bats as well, and vice-versa. 2) Bring youth baseball back into the cities. There are a lot of bad ways to spend money, but I don't think building serviceable fields and supplying economically disadvantaged youths with the equipment required of the game of baseball is one of them. Getting major league players and coaches to run clinics is a great idea as well. 3) Ban body armor and any and all substances that could allow for an unfair advantage. I'd call this the McGwire/Bonds rule. 4) Pressure the little leagues, high school, and college ball to stop using aluminum bats. Aluminum bats instill a false sense of confidence and teach kids bad habits, like trying to always hit home runs. 5) Make the All-Star game matter, but in a different way. Get rid of the Home Field advantage rule, but include incentives for players and managers. If say, the winner gets a bag of cash for winning, then I'd bet the farm they'd be playing to win. The All-Star game should not be a good-player-free-for-all, it should be a game where the very best players from each league square off. That's all I can think of right now. 1st post.