OH GAWD

CAHYNES GAWT THA URN

7/13/2009 9:46:46 PM

puppies JR

puppies

7/13/2009 9:51:49 PM

7/13/2009 10:12:34 PM

There is no FUCKING wind. Give it a rest, Joe.

7/13/2009 10:18:46 PM

i am enjoying the celebrity/HOF softball game... pretty entertaining

7/13/2009 11:37:12 PM

^its always my favorite part of the all star break. i used to love the kenny mayne/harold reynolds games. Those were hilarious

7/13/2009 11:38:50 PM

ALL STAR GAME STARTERS, PITCHERS, AND LINEUPS

AL
1. Ichiro Suzuki, RF
2. Derek Jeter, SS
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Mark Teixeira, 1B
5. Jason Bay, LF
6. Josh Hamilton, CF
7. Evan Longoria, 3B
8. Aaron Hill, 2B
9. Roy Halladay, SP

NL
1. Hanley Ramirez, SS
2. Chase Utley, 2B
3. Albert Pujols, 1B
4. Ryan Braun, RF
5. Raul Ibanez, LF
6. David Wright, 3B
7. Shane Victorino, CF
8. Yadier Molina, C
9. Tim Lincecum, SP

Roy Halladay (10-3, 2.85) vs. Tim Lincecum (10-2, 2.33)
Although All-Star starting pitchers rarely pitch past the 2nd inning, big things are expected from these top-tier aces. Lincecum's Giants have been overshadowed by the dominating Dodgers this season, but his numbers cannot be ignored heading into his first All-Star appearance. This Halladay's first All-Star start, despite being selected to the team on six separate occasions. Although his numbers seem slightly below Lincecum's, and there is doubt that he is even the best pitcher the AL has so far this season, there is no denying Halladay's brilliance in compiling 10 wins in 17 starts so far this season for a Blue Jays team that is flying so far under the radar that fans often forget Canada still has a team.

Bullpen
It won't take long before other aces such as Josh Beckett and Johan Santana take the mound for their respective teams, and that is a great matchup within itself. Santana started the season at an incredible pace with ERA numbers comprable to Lincecum, but a dreadful month of June has since sent those numbers skyrocketing. Santana, however, has been spot on in his most recent two starts allowing only 2 runs over 14 innings. Beckett has worked in reverse, starting off slow but has been dominant as of late and is currently sitting on an 11-3 record.

There isn't anything to get excited about for either team when it comes to middle relief, but the heavy array of potential closers makes fans of both leagues hopeful for a close game. Jonathan Papelbon and Mariano Rivera of the AL will match late-inning wits against Trevor Hoffman and Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez.

Lineups
Both teams will be providing excitement at the top of their respective lineups, but because of injuries suffered by both sides, the rest of the batting orders may not be as enticing as in years past. The National League has replaced injured Carlos Beltran with Shane Victorino, bumping the CF position from what could have possibly been #3 to #7 in the lineup. David Wright, who is on pace for the highest hitting season of his career, has seen a drop in power this season and will not have good protection late in the lineup at #6.

On the AL side of the ball, there is doubt that Teixeira should even be starting at 1B, let alon batting clean-up. Josh Hamilton is not having the season that fans remember him for from last year, and the difference in talent between reigning AL MVP Dustin Pedroia and his replacement at 2B, Aaron Hill, is enough to have fans worried.

Expect to see pinch hitters and replacement fielders at the bottom of both lineups earlier than the usual All-Star trends.

Bench
With Pedroia's absence, the AL is without a true back-up for 2B. It would not be surprising to see either of the back-ups for 3B, Michael Young and final-vote winner Brandon Inge, sub in at second. The AL will however have a plethera of options at 1B, including Kevin Youkilis, Carlos Pena, and former MVP Justin Morneau.

The NL bench is also heavy at 1B, with Home-Run Derby participant Ryan Howard and winner Prince Fielder joining Adrian Gonzales. But with hometown hero Albert Pujols starting, their opportunities for at-bats will be limited more so than others. Beyond the list of 1B that could almost create their own All-Star team, there aren't many other players who will cause a major threat to the AL pitching staff. Essentially, expect many substitutions from the AL team and as few as possible from the NL. David Wright and Hanley Ramirez should get plenty of playing time with only Ryan Zimmerman and Miguel Tejada to replace them, respectively.

Who has the upper hand?
Starting Pitcher: NL
Bullpen: AL
Starting Lineup: NL
Bench: AL
Manager: NL

Predictions
Winner: NL
MVP: Albert Pujols

7/14/2009 1:21:50 AM

My cat was going crazy during Home Run Derby with the ball doppler lol



[Edited on July 14, 2009 at 1:35 AM. Reason : -]

7/14/2009 1:34:14 AM

anybody know if the game is going to go live online?

7/14/2009 3:39:43 AM

I'll bet last night before Fielder went to bed, his wife Chanel turned to him and was like

goodnight, sweet prince...

7/14/2009 11:13:03 AM

^^ i also need to know

there's no cable anywhere around here and I don't feel like wasting money at a sports bar tonight

7/14/2009 4:55:19 PM

fyi, tonight's game is on FOX, not ESPN like the derby

7/14/2009 5:05:54 PM

Longoria out.

7/14/2009 5:43:34 PM

This isn't necessarily the right thread for this, but because of the location of this year's game Pujols is obviously getting a lot of press right now.

I just wanted to vent how sick I am of hearing about how he's the best player in baseball...I think he's even up for an ESPY award for being the best player.

Before I make the simple argument that everyone might see coming, I will say that I don't doubt that he is the best HITTER in the majors right now. I will support that argument. He may even end up proving to be the best hitter of all time.

But having a title of best player means more than hitting, it also means fielding. Is he the best fielder in baseball? Not by a long shot, not even on the same level as half of the other fielders out there. If he was, he wouldn't be playing 1B. End of story. If he were a better fielder, he would be playing 2B, SS, 3B, or CF. But he isn't. When you compare him to all people playing those positions, he is sub-par. Thus, he is not the best player in baseball. Best hitter? Sure...best player? No.

End of my rant/blog/thingie

7/14/2009 5:44:44 PM

Hmm...

http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=y&type=6&season=2009&month=0

I like this site. It shows the value (offensively/defensively) using different sabremetric statistics. Pujols is at the top even though he is a slightly below average value defender.

The only caveat to this list is they haven't worked out the offensive/defensive values to Citi Field and NYS, so the Mets/Yankees will be undervalued tremendously on this list.

(as you can see if you look at 2008, 3 Mets and 2 Yankees were in the Top 20)

[Edited on July 14, 2009 at 5:50 PM. Reason : and if you go back, you'll see Chase Utley is probaly one of the Top 2-3 all around players in mlb]

7/14/2009 5:49:44 PM

I wonder how they get the "Positional" stat...I mean, he is obviously getting negative due to his position, but can numbers really account for the fact that if he were to play SS, he could quite possibly be the worst fielding SS in the game, whereas the average SS could go play 1B without a problem?

7/14/2009 5:54:52 PM

^^^Nah you make a valid point. I think Pujols is definitely the best hitter in baseball right now, but he's far from the best fielder. He's far from the best first basemen defensively, but how does one objectively compare a player by balancing hitting and fielding? Are they both weighed equally? If so you could argue that Torri Hunter or Chase Utley might be the best baseball player this season.

[Edited on July 14, 2009 at 5:56 PM. Reason : OH SHIT! Internal Server Error]

7/14/2009 5:55:02 PM

Quote :

"If he were a better fielder, he would be playing 2B, SS, 3B, or CF."

i would love to see a 6'3" 230 pound man playing SS or 2B

7/14/2009 6:13:09 PM

Just because his frame prohibits him from playing certain positions doesn't excuse that attribute when discussing his value relative to other players. The fact remains that his physique makes him a worse fielder than many. I'm not saying it's his fault, I'm just saying it's something to be considered.

7/14/2009 6:20:57 PM

could a DH be considered the best player ever?

or how about a QB? could one be considered the best football player ever?

7/14/2009 6:26:48 PM

Quote :

" i would love to see a 6'3" 230 pound man playing SS or 2B "

Guess you're too young to remember a guy named Cal Ripken ???

7/14/2009 6:33:55 PM

RIP, Cal

7/14/2009 6:38:20 PM

EVERYONE KNOWS CAL WAS A 3B

7/14/2009 6:48:00 PM

and everybody knows Cal juiced

how else could be have grown to be 6'4"

7/14/2009 6:50:50 PM

You're right.... My bad. He never played SS

7/14/2009 6:59:13 PM

SLOBAMA?RAWrRawRRaWroopoOooOOoooo!!!!!

7/14/2009 8:11:19 PM

could the pregame ceremonies have possibly been any longer?

game "starts" at 8:00pm

1st pitch tossed at 8:50pm

7/14/2009 8:51:12 PM

OH SHIT!

[Edited on July 14, 2009 at 8:51 PM. Reason : .]

7/14/2009 8:51:12 PM

anyone else notice the fake tits in black behind home plate?

7/14/2009 8:55:24 PM

^yes.

I also like how this has been made into a "All Pujols, All The Time" weekend, and hes done nothing but disappoint so far

7/14/2009 9:06:04 PM

We're out of money heh heh

7/14/2009 9:26:14 PM

i would like the all star game better if starters played the whole game.

I would have rather seen Lincecum and Halladay battle it out until one has to be pulled.

It sucks when the game is tied in the bottom of the 8th or 9th and Hunter Pence steps up to the plate

7/14/2009 10:08:15 PM

Nice HR saving catch by Crawford

7/14/2009 10:43:04 PM

fuck joe madden - didn't pitch wakefield or beckett. what a crock of shit. especially for wake...first ever all star game



[Edited on July 14, 2009 at 11:40 PM. Reason : i can understand beckett as he pitched on sunday]

7/14/2009 11:31:41 PM

National League is weak....AL home field advantage AGAIN - Rivera gets the save....Sweet

7/14/2009 11:34:30 PM

^^who would you suggest catch for Wakefield?

7/14/2009 11:48:03 PM

it's not like wake ONLY throws the knuckle and that's it. he could have put the dude in for 1 batter and had him not throw the knuckle. anything to let a guy who has put in that much time to the bigs and finally made the AS game get on the mount for his moment

from what i've read elsewhere, madden says he was saving wake in case the game went super long...he knew he could pitch wake forever. i guess that eases it some, but as a guy who has always loved the more quirky sox players (wake, tony pena, etc), I was hoping to see him on the mound

[Edited on July 15, 2009 at 1:03 AM. Reason : .]

7/15/2009 12:53:19 AM

Quote :

"the difference in talent between reigning AL MVP Dustin Pedroia and his replacement at 2B, Aaron Hill, is enough to have fans worried."

Haha yeah really they would much rather see this statline in there: .303 4 homers 40 RBIs than this one: .292 20 homers 60 RBIs. Big dropoff there.

Red Sox homers like this ^ guy are unreal

7/15/2009 1:11:33 AM

Hey goalielax, his name is Maddon. I know you're too busy sucking Grandpa Knuckle's cock on page 3 here, but I think you would at least know who your team's daddy is...

Joe Maddon.



And Crawford is the shit.

I'm out.

7/15/2009 2:05:30 AM

hah - you have such weak shit. for someone who proclaims to hate the sox and yanks so much, you think you could come a bit stronger.

7/15/2009 3:50:48 AM

anybody else witness that HORRIBLE fielding performance by Pujols last night

he needs to be demoted to A-ball

7/15/2009 7:44:04 AM

Would you be referring to his diving plays or his booted ball which cost them a run?

7/15/2009 10:38:22 AM

Quote :

"it's not like wake ONLY throws the knuckle and that's it. he could have put the dude in for 1 batter and had him not throw the knuckle."

haha WAT? Has he ever hit 80 mph with his fastball? He throws like 4 curves a game.

7/15/2009 1:06:00 PM

jaded boston fan.

I bet if all 9 starters lined up with their nuts out he'd suck the salt off of them like eating sunflower seeds...

7/15/2009 7:18:37 PM