A new baseball movie called "Moneyball" with Brad Pitt is coming out. I dig baseball and baseball movies, too.


.....sorry to derail.....

Thanks Yellow. I been depressed since my Bronx boys are 1.5 games out behind - the -- the - the - Red Sox. There. I said it. ;)

We all have favorites! I keep loving the loosers.:seeingstars:We have been 15-29 since the all star game. :vigil: Theres always next year.

And afterall, its not if you win or lose, its about how you play in the Series! Just kidding...the game is a pleasure to watch and play regardless of who wins.

:)

Oh, how I would love to see our starters back!!

Yup, Houston smacked us around- and now the Cubs have taken 2 of 3!!! It is just awful!!! I hope SF wins today vs the Cubs... this is heartbreaking to watch!!

And this weekend we play the Dbacks who are 6 games ahead of SF and won their last 8 games. Very hot streak! Another team that has been in the cellar most of the time coming on strong. The way SF is playing, I think it is going to be a long and painful series. Now it isn't just the problems with the offense- a whole lot of sloppy play going on. Both Lincecum and Voglesong had mediocre games this series.

Beltran was booed yesterday with all of his strike-outs. Afterall, we got him to be a bat and took over his big contract- so it appears people are just frustrated as hell with him. Keppinger is finally doing some things with hits, but the rest of the guys need to be able to get on base before he hits!!!

Oh well.... yes, there is next year. Kind of funny, I am more glued to games right now because I keep thinking this spell will be broken. Can't be a fair weather fan.

No, didn't see little league WS- that would be fun!

Oh wow, you could sit in my section......we are a bunch of has beens, I've concluded, like I said always waiting on next year. You see, I was even watching the little leaguers.....I just love the game. I have 41 games taped so far (that I have not seen) to get me thru the winter.

Yup- you and Hunter are my kind of baseball people!! Damn, I gotta get some taping equipment! That is a great idea for winter viewing! I follow some college football and have a spot in my heart for the Steelers (mainly because of memories of my Dad and watching them with him), but, baseball is my game.

Thinking as we go through September- the Dbacks might very well be a major force in the play-offs as a team with a lot of spirited scrappiness! Might be some good coverage of their history. LOL, if my guys are not in, I do temd to go for underdogs. Yet, for the AL, I do have another soft spot for the Red Sox.

OK, I am getting excited about October- and play-off ball. No matter the teams that get in, it is always some damn fine baseball being played. It will be fun to have fans here that might have their team in it all- will make my play-off and WS experience more fun.

Wow, what a cool idea...taping for winter! I love it.

What's Derek Jeters' batting average?;)

A respectable .293! They are playing Boston right now. Losing though. :(

I should be in bed, but instead I am torturing myself by watching the Astros continue to beat us......

The Pirates have a late afternoon rain out make up game tomorrow (one game) My darling lover said she'd leave early if I wanted to go to the game. We are both off Friday.......

Initially I said No, and she came right back and said No pouting all evening because we aren't at the game. (lol) I'm so predictable.

Good job on that batting average!

Got to go to the Tigers-Royals game last night in Detroit with some friends who scored some fabulous tickets (friend knows someone who works high up in the Royals). Tigers won in 10 innings! It was such a good game. Our pitcher had a no-hitter going into the 7th inning.

Given the crap I have been going through at work lately, I was glad to have this little escape.

Jake

Galaragga, Won my heart the night he threw the no hitter and Jim Joyce missed the call. He showed class by not arguing. Showed even more class by accepting the appology, quietly, and moving on. Who was the winning pitcher?

I know, weird timing. Guess it is due to all the "rules" about this stuff. Kinda sux with Rowand as he was part of the WS team, but he has just not been performing. Tejada's situation is more about just having quite a few guys in the positions he plays coming up through the farm system that are showing better offensive stats.

Oh yes, September schedules... we start the series vs Dbacks tomorrow here and they are playing way hot! On a mission, they are! We are 5 behind them.

SF took the last game with the Cubs yesterday and Keppinger is looking like he is coming alive- the Panda and he knocked solo homers back to back. But, as much as I love my team, I don't see them back in first place. Something is just not meshing with them as a team. Maybe all the injuries just took too much of a toll on keeping them in sync. But, I could be wrong- they were 6 back at this very time last year.

These guys can be scrappers out there. Actually, I love it when teams that don't have flashy players just get out there and grind it out. The Dbacks have some of this kind of stuff, too. Pirates are another teams like that- and I never count the Red Sox out and love it when they beat NY.

I gotta check out what is going on with Detroit-

The pirates record for August was 8 and 22. :readfineprint:

They had a late afternoon game (rain out/make up one game) and came to pgh via houston and onto Chicago.

Clearly, they have been awful. Since there was a televised Steeler game, I suspected, in lieu of the steadily declining popularity (again) of baseball
attendance would be low. I called my ticket Rep and asked him if they were discounting any tickets for the game...he said *No, why?* I said
Hey...you're not exactly rocking the house....and we are not going to leave work early, give you $110.00 and well....NEVER MIND!

Heard on the news, less than 4,000 fans came to the game. Seriously.
Could you pay your grounds crew with that money?

We have 4 more games in our ticket plan, I think it's going to be an empty ball park again. How anti climatic.

UGH!!!

The time a team really needs its fan base is when they are loosing!!!

The NLB has a page...who doesn't. Even I have a page. Anyhow, The NLB
page, each team has a sub page, so then it's the Pirates page. Ok, I just didn't want you thinking I was on FAKE BOOK. Well, pages and pages
and pages of unhappy Pirate fans. While the team has imploded, they announced they are raising ticket prices. I was all in favor of that. You can sit in the bleacher seats for $9.00, and right and left field, you know...way out there, for $10. Not bad seats for $10.00

Let me see if I can explain this. My season ticket package came yesterday. Season tickets, or half season or quarter season, is the way to go....if you are a fan. The savings is substantial. Well, now the pricing is not going to be bleacher seats, Rt. Field, Left Field. It's going to be all about the view. Every year that you are a season ticket holder, you are
given a chance to bid better. You can't get better (in my opinion) than my seats. Took me 10 years to get here. I am right behind home plate, two tiers up. Perfect for me, because i love to watch the pitching and the catching. With my little binoculars, I can see the black rubber around home plate. I'm such a nerd. So, looking at this price sheet....my ticket, and the view, will cost me $30.00 a ticket more. But then it goes on to say....significant price difference to renewal season ticket holders. But no invoice. I guess I'm supposed to become numb before the invoice and better bid sheet comes. When I heard ticket price increase, I thought oh, $5.00 across the table or something. We have not had an increase in 10 years.

So back to this Pirate page. Fans are calling for a total boycott. That's extreme. I have to tell you what Ryan Doumit (the scrappy catcher) did. I saw this on Sports Clips or something A. was watching. Runner on first. Pitcher throws a past ball. Doumit takes his good old time going to get it (it looked like he forgot
there was a runner on) he actually walked to the ball, didn't even whip off his face mask...then picked the ball up...the runner was on his way to third. All of a sudden Doumit looked at third, and here comes the runner
safe. no throw. Whats that??? I couldn't help but wonder if he was dissappointed no one took him from the trading block?

Good thing we live blocks from the ball park. I refuse to pay 20.00 to park a car. oH HECK, YOU KNOW ME....i REFUSE TO DRIVE A CAR!

Bleacher seats for 10 bucks? Wow...theyre like 50 bucks at Yankee Stadium, plus a kidney donation to park. But, the Yanks did just scrape into first place last night.

I don't care what the reason is, Doumit should be fined by the coach. I love baseball, but, there is no reason to slack off even if your team is bad. Youre still playing BALL for a living! Any crap day on a shitty MLB ball team is 10 times better than the best day at my job. Any AAA player would love to get that job. Man. I was shocked when you posted that. That behavior is such a slap in the face to sooo many people...fans, players, teammates, working stiffs...crazy. :(

Yes Hunter, they (the Pirate Organization) were very quick to point out the prices of the tickets at your ball ball park, the Bo sox, The Giants and the Brewers. This enraged the Pirate fans even more.....NO TEAM in baseball histrory has had a loosing record for 19 straight seasons and is
still around. The Pirate Organization was smart enough to Thank the season ticket holders for sticking with them, hell or high water, (we have a
fairly substantial fan base) Steelers #1, Penguins #2....both teams sell out every home game and then the Pirates. Now....even with $9.00 and $10.00
seats almost always available (even as season tickets) we still do not get people to go to the games because well, people, (in general) are tired of loosing. The team reportedly made 30 million dollars last year, with horrible attendance and the lowest payroll in MLB. (and lost 105 games). Ownership disputes that figure. Ownershio owns newspapers. So...I don't know. Show us the pricing of a mediocre team I guess.

And as for Ryan Doumit. Our team manager has a proven track record of
punishing players who minutely give the apperance of being a slacker. Andrew McCutchen is no exception. He failed to run out....all the way to first, an infield pop up to the catcher. And spent two days on the bench
(newspsper said he was fined two days of salary) Clint Hurdle said *we don't discuss discipline* We have a minor league catcher the Bo Sox gave us for cheap, Micheal Mchenry, who turned into an absolute sensation. The first defensive catcher we have had, ever since I can remember.....
Doumit is what critics call a terrible catcher. He lacks finess. Things like, his unprotected hand is always injured from foul balls (every year a broken bone or two) because he lacks the self discipline to put it behind his back
while recieving the ball. His throw out % is 28%. Micheal Mchenry is in the high 90's. Few will even try to run on him now. Not to mention how at least once a game, he catches some one AT ANY BASE, leading off too far
and makes that throw as if he was tossing back to the pitcher.

I have always been a fan of Ryan Doumit, but was very soured on what
I saw. Even sorrier for HIM, that it was broadcast on a sports channel. He may find himself in the minors or out of baseball next year. Passive Aggressive I think. Oh, one more thing....on a low payroll team...he makes 5 million dollars. They called up a catcher from the minors, I think the Pirates are done show caseing Doumit.

WOOT!!!

SF took the first game vs AZ! And I hear the Pirates won yesterday, too! We had some great offense- Beltran got it going! Keppinger, Huff and Ross woke up, too!!

Let the september scrapping begin!! And with tejada gone, Crawford was called back up- YES!! Love those hands!! And he has potential with a bat.

I saw some clips last night and looks like Verlander and team are doing just fine! Since SF played the interleague series with Detroit, I have been watching them in the AL.

We had 6 runs last night to back up Matt Cain and it was a very sweet sight! So, we shall see.......

Hi Yellow-

These owners are just greedy pigs. They dont care about the fans bc they still get a cut of the other MLB teams $$. So, as long as they sell tickets they won't do anything to help the team bc they dont love the game. Its just another business they own, like another shoe store they happen to own.

Hell, I'd love to have a business that made 30 million a year. But they dont love the game. I hate to say this, and I mean NO OFFENSE, but it reminds me of the Yankees...they sucked until Steinbrenner bought them, bc he loved baseball and wanted to win for the fans and for the players and for the franchise. He bought the team and turned it into what it is bc he had passion. It wasnt just a business to him.

You mention the catcher Michael McKenry. He does look great. But, 90% throw out rate is pretty high...unless you were just teasing me. Why the heck dont they bring him up? Paying 5 mil for Doumit is absurd when you got that guy in the minors, kwim?

Hi Kobi...you dig the Sox? I'm a Yankee fan. It's been a great race so far this year, hasnt it? You have a good looking team this year. I love when the Sox play the Yanks....can't beat it. Nothing like a friendly rivalry between teams.

Play ball!

:)

Micheal McHenry is here, hoping he is here to stay. He was brought here when Doumit was crushed on a play at the plate and broke his ankle, and our other catcher blew out his back two days later. Our own minor league prospect (talk about bad luck)
was hit by a pitch in the side of the head and had a fractured jaw. So here comes Micheal McHenry. He flourished
apparently because of desire. It's a feel good story. I think
as I have been saying, Doumit will no longer be a pirate next year. Rumors for two years that they have been trying to trade him. But always injured. He can hit. This incident of sloppy play is not Doumit like. He's playing today....and playing his heart out. I think he saw his fate on the sports wheel. Sad.

Patiently waiting the Detroit-Chicago (White Sox) game at 4. I watched the game last night, with Justin Verlander dominating the Sox. If you get a chance to watch Verlander pitch this year, take a look. He's won 21 games this season, and he is (I hope) the top Cy Young candidate. He is completely dominating other teams. Just a great pitcher to watch.

If he doesnt win the Cy Young I will be shocked. He's great.

braves 81 and 56 wow!

but 8 1/2 behind the Phillies. The Phillies are that good!

6-4 yankees are winning at yankee stadium! Yanks will pick up a half game if they finish this.

David Huff pitches tonight for the Indians.....(my second favorite team)

5 to 3 in a rain delay Pirates at Chicago, and Loosing. They can call this, it's 7 1/2 played.

Me too- can't imagine him not getting the Cy Young this season. That, from a big time, Tim Lincecum fan- but he has won it twice and Verlander's stats are better. I saw some of the clips last night- nice game, Tigers!!

The Giants better beat the Dbacks again tonight!! And it looks like the Pirates are picking things up! The Red Sox game was great!! Damn, Cody ross made one hell of a sliding catch in lest field last night for SF!!

Without meaning to go off-topic, I thought I'd go down memory lane slightly with this post. As I've mentioned previously on this thread, I've very little interest in modern day baseball but have a strong interest in vintage baseball history and imagery, esp. relating to the NY Yankees and NY Giants.

Despite my fascination with the 1920s Yankees, Babe Ruth has never been one of my real sporting heroes (Lou Gehrig has always captured my imagination much more as has Phil Douglas of the Giants) but I was fortunate enough to purchase these two original photos from the archives of the Chicago Tribune this weekend.

These photos are interesting, given that they capture the man very close to his death. The first of the photos was taken at Monogram Studios in May 1948 with Ruth looking into the camera at scenes from the forthcoming Babe Ruth Story. William Bendix, who played Ruth in the movie, is also pictured. With Ruth critically ill, the movie was rushed through production so that Ruth could attend the premiere, which he did on 26th July, weeks before his death:

http://i926.photobucket.com/albums/a...esgq/ruth1.jpg


The second photo was taken in Baltimore in August 1948, just before his last trip to hospital where he died on 16th August. At this stage, Ruth was gaunt, ravaged by cancer and unable to speak.

http://i926.photobucket.com/albums/a...esgq/RUTH2.jpg



Neither photo is particularly attractive, for good reason, but vividly capture the final days of a sporting icon and a true Yankees legend.

Derek Lee returned to the line up yesterday, against the Cubs. He singled first time up, after being on the disabled list with a broken bone in his wrist. He batted again in the 9th, bases loaded, two outs...he hit a grand slam off the very pitcher, who hit him on the wrist. Pirates won 7 to 5.

The night before, Chicago pitcher hit Andrew Mccutchen on the finger part of his left hand. Clint Hurdle [manager] was reportedly livid with his pitching staff for not protecting their players. He cited some astounding statistics about up and in and hit batsmen against us....compared to what we delivered.

Olendorf apparently got the message, at all costs. He hit two of the chicago batters in the first inning. You know the old saying, when a batter gets hit so, does the catcher and the umpire. YEP! both times the fast ball 93 and 95 mph
hit the batters then hit Doumit in the chest protector and flew up and hit the umpire. I was surprised after the second beaning, no warnings were issued. (the second beaned batter loaded the bases with no one out). We got out of it, no harm done.

Andrew did not have any broken bones, and played. but was wearing a padded glove. Later in the game, Nate Mcclouth
beaned another bat's man, right in the butt..:|..still no warning.

The pirates have some decisions to make. Derek lee, will be 34 next year. He has played in 4 games for us, since being aquired before the trading dead line. Has hit 3 home runs.
He is having a good year. Certainly an upgrade over Overbay.Should they offer him a new contract?

Then we still have Garrett Jones. Also an offensive weapon. He is eligable for arbitration next year. He had a fantastic
Aug. while Lee was healing and no Overbay. Led the team with extra base base hits. So the Pirates know what they have with Jones. The question mark is Lee. Jones can also play outfield. Right or left.

I've talked several times about accountability with our hitting coach, Gregg Ritchie. Not only are we, once again, considered the worst team in baseball with 19 loosing years, we lead MLB in strikeouts. Since the all star game, we have had 431.

The Giants made it to the world series on great pitching, and Philadelphia is doing that now.....maybe I am looking at
offense all wrong.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

So frustarted with the same old lack of offense loses for SF!! Vogelsong puts up fantastic pitching numbers and our bats do nothing!! AZ's Hudson is a hell of a pitcher too- but dammit!!! They seem to get hot, but it is always short lived. Frankly, Sandoval has not hit worth beans since he came back from the DL a couple of months ago.

Beltran & Keppinger have little bloops of great hitting, then..... nada...

We go to SD tomorrow- who knows- now back 7.

The good news is that Buster Posey is recovering quite well from his mega injury early on in the season and it looks like he will play again- which was in question.

Vogelsong went 7 with giving up a hit, then in the 8th, the Dbacks woke-up and SF just did not hit or get the hell on base.

So frustrating! But, I will be as big of Giants fan tomorrow as ever....

Looks like my AL team (BoSox) are very much in contention! Sooooooo much closer than my Giants and the Dbacks. But, they were 6 back at the end of September last year. I just don't see the same "magic" :(.

Posey will maybe be back sometime next season. he still has a long way to go. But, his progress is good. He says he will catch again- I think that is nuts! The guy has experience at other positions and is a great hitter- I don't get his wanting to catch after that accident. However, he has had the super of the supers as surgeons and sports rehab specialists- who knows what is possible. He's young and strong and dedicated to the game. He is such a force on the team- I'm glad he is now in the dugout during games.

SF has had serious injuries to key players throughout the season- I think that has taken one hell of a toll, especially with meshing together which was so much a part of the 2010 WS team.

It seems to me that Boston might very well be a force in the playoffs- kewl! There are some damn good teams in the AL this season- they have a lot to do, but, 1.5 games out is not bad at all.

SF not only needs to win just about every game, but the Dbacks have got to lose more than a few!! And I just feel like SF really needs to re-think their offensive coaching. It isn't working! And there are guys that are not hitting that certainly have in the past.

MO
 

I just have to give our guy Mo Rivera his props. I have never seen him actually hit a guy, but he did today...wow. But they won.

This guy is FORTY-ONE and is still pitching 94 mph and he is still one of the best closers out there. Almost 600 saves. The dude is just amazing.


PS-sorry about Beckett all. I hope he doesn't even miss one game. He's great!

I predict the BoSox will be in first before the end of the season...you guys are good. Its been a see-saw season.

YES! A win! These days, SF has got to get them all!! Will the offense continue to bring in runs??? September is so wild and nail-biting.

Loved seeing my favorite rookie play yesterday and our bats working- Crawford at SS. Bumgarner blows me away- if he is this good at 22, what will he be like on the mound in a couple of years? What a kid- I remember him last year as a rookie pitcher in the post season as cool as a veteran.

September baseball is sooooooooooooooooo intense!

Oh, it is heating up! SF has developed some offense with September call-ups, especially Bret Pill. But, they lost yesterday to SD in a game that they should have won.

Hell yes, Verlander is something!! The Tigers are tearing it up out there overall and I am really looking foreward to The AL play-offs- almost as much as the NL, where my heart resides. If Verlander does not get the Cy Young, it would stink. The guy will be among the greats in baseball history.

Yes, Posey and catching again... I don't know if anyone else saw how Carlos Beltran demonstrates the way to slide into home- thing of beauty. He gets the run without putting himself or a catcher in danger of serious injury. And the guy has lousy knees! Players really do not have to smash catchers to hell in order to get the run. Skill and knowing how to have a long career on the field goes a long way.

AZ is really hot and determined- my guess is that they take our conference and SF is a wild-card in the play-offs. We still have some holes that I think will not be filled in time and the Dbacks have the mojo going! I can see them in the WS- just have to see.

Home stand against the Dodgers for SF starting Friday. SD is playing AZ for a series. I think AZ will sweep- damn!!

Yelloband- geez, the Pirates have fallen so much! Sux- they have a lot of talent.