MLB Season

Crazy stat for sure.

Went to the Halos game Sat. night and have to say that Mike Trout is the best young player I've EVER seen. Led off the game with a Home Run and leapt HIGH over the wall and robbed Prince Fielder of a HR on the final out of the game. 21 years old, and a transcendent player. Who can you compare him to?? At his age he's further along than Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, or Ken Griffey Jr. Nothing else to say.

American League races are getting crazy. Thankfully my Halos are getting hot at the right time and have pulled within one of the wildcard race. It looks like there could be 3 teams that finish well above .500 and NOT make the postseason.

 

I did see Mays as a second grader when he was in his 40's w/the Mets and a shell of himself, does that count? :whistle:

I name dropped because I have no doubts that Mays and Mantle would be superstars today, but this kid who couldn't buy a beer legally until a month ago is as good a player at his age then anyone before him; I dug up the stats on those guys at the age of 20:

Mantle; batting avg, .267, 23 HR, 87 RBI, 4 stolen bases, 94 runs scored in 142 games.

Mays; batting avg. .274, 20 HR, 68 RBI, 7 stolen bases, 59 runs scored in only 121 games.

Griffey Jr. .batting avg. 300, 22 HR, 80 RBI, 16 stolen bases, 91 runs scored in 155 games

Trout; batting avg. .328, 27 HR, 77 RBI, 44 stolen bases, 112 runs scored in only 117 games

The best story team-wise of the year has to be Baltimore. Buck Showalter deserves a ton of credit for getting the O's back into contention, and really glad the front office was smart enough to bring back their iconic logo.

 

He has declined the last month of so. He will be a Hall of Famer someday, but let's not get ahead of ourselves and put him up there with Griffey, Mays etc. I know Angels fans are excited, my Dad won't shut up about him, but some perspective is in order. All of those guys went onto be the best of the best and Trout has only been great for 3/4 of a season.

 

That stance is a bit ironic from a guy who wants to declare the Pac 12 the best football conference in the land after just 2 weeks.

I agree with you though. I never have understood why sports fans are in such a hurry to proclaim how great a player/team/league is. Baseball has had plenty of promising careers derailed by injury, so you never know. That said, Trout has gotten his career off to an amazing start and Angels fans should be excited to watch him. Even if they are massive underachievers (how are they in 3rd place in their division & chasing the wild card from behind?).

Back to what's truly important though, Baltimore is still in it. I can't believe the wheels haven't fallen off yet and if Showalter doesn't win manager of the year, regardless of what happens in the last 2-3 weeks, it's a travesty. The logo thing is funny b/c that's the one from my childhood going to O's games. However, the one we'd been using is the old school original. So we went old school from the old school...or something like that. I do love the return of the tri-colored cap and birdface. :banana-dance:

 

Keep in mind that I did say 'best young player I've ever seen'. Could he blow out a knee tomorrow? Yes. Could he tail off and never reach the heights of those other guys? Yes. Will time tell if he can be compared with the all-time greats? Yes. Have I ever seen a 20 year old play like he does? No. It was stunning to be in the house for the show he put on, and his numbers are mind boggling...for his age. Besides, a little hyperbole is good for the soul :bow-blue:

Look no further for the Halos underachievement than the starting rotation that is getting paid of 60 million pitching for the most part like dogs in the second half. Just don't see them playing in the postseason.

Wouldn't it be great (Fox executives would want to throw up) if Baltimore and Tampa were the ones to make it to the playoffs?

 

Says you. Of course if Trout played for the Orioles I might be given to a little hyperbole myself.

I would love to see both the Sawx and Yanks sitting at home for the postseason.

 

As my little boy screams: "Go Giants!"

 

My team backed in....again. And #5 can get an early start on his off season charity work.

I really didn't expect much this season, given the departures of Pujols, LaRussa and Duncan. So this, like our last two world championships, is just icing on the cake. Don't know what our chances are against Atlanta, but whatever happens, it's been a successful year, especially since Mike Matheny is a rookie with NO previous managerial experience. And, he's just a good guy. And Lohse deserves the start Friday.

GO CARDS!

 

Congrats to DaveNearDC on his Detroit Tigers grinding out the division. Miguel Cabrera looks to win the Triple Crown (Lead league in HRs, RBIs, and batting avg.) for the first time since 1967. Never thought I'd see someone win it in my lifetime, so even though my future son-in-law Mike Trout (gave my daughter my blessing ) is having an historical season, Miggy has to win the AL MVP. Tigers have struggled, but w/Verlander and Scherzer pitching in a short series they will be a tough out.

Congrats to Jump on the Cards, Aggie and HD on the O's, Nev on the Giants. Oakland and Texas go heads up today to see who avoids the one-game roll of the dice.

Last thought on Halos season, the putrid start of the season with Trout still in AAA (6-14 before he was recalled) came back to haunt. They went 83-58 since, but too little too late.

 

Why not? The final chapter hasn't been written yet, but Mike Matheny hasn't done too badly this season.

 

Fear the A's - seriously, an on-fire club with a great bullpen - that screams playoff success. I wouldn't want to face the A's right now...

And mind my Gigantes- they are about to tear through the Reds and whatever club is leftover to reach the Series.

The Bay Bridge Series may rebirth this year...and I'm buying one of those ridiculous half A's/Giants hats just so I can own one. Damn, I hate those things.

Let's Go Giants!!!!

 

As long as there's no earthquake this time ...

 

And neither did Robin Ventura, come to think of it.

 

Do or die one game playoff today for the 4 wildcards. Fans of the losing teams will hate the new format, but MLB has effectively added "Game 7" tension, and puts winning the division back to being a premium.

AL; Baltimore at Texas. Big problem for the O's battling the Yanks until the last day is they are now forced to start Joe Saunders today. He's a tough-minded, but limited lefty who I liked when he pitched for the Angels. Only problem is he got shelled every time when pitching in Texas. 0-6 with a ERA over 9 in his career at that stadium. Buck Showalter will have a quick hook. The Rangers fell apart by losing 7 of their last 9 and the AL West. Have they lost their edge from making WS appearances two years in a row? I think they have, but the Darvish-Saunders matchup gives them the huge advantage.

NL; St. Louis at Atlanta. The Braves are starting Kris Medlen and Atlanta has won a ridiculous 23 straight games in which he has started. Which means the Cards will win :shock: The Redbirds have a history of winning in the postseason, while the Braves just the opposite. As soon as something goes bad the 'here we go again' feeling will descend upon Turner Field.

 

Let's go Giants!! Let's go Giants!!! Let's go Giants!!!!

 

It's interesting how the Cardinals have been just good enough to get into post season play this millenium, then end up winning the whole thing. The irony is, their best team during this stretch was swept by the Bosox in '04. Go figure. Bring on the Nats!

 

As good a chance as anyone else to win the NL pennant. Cincinnati wasn't ready for the playoffs last time and was quickly swept, but will give the Giants all they want.

Can the A's get back to business after all the euphoria? Capable for sure, but seeing Verlander twice in a short series will spell their doom.

Typical Atlanta, plenty of chances wasted, one key error (sorry that it was Chipper Jones in his swan song), and one bad call contributed to the loss. Give the champs credit, they expect to win. About the call, I don't care if some idiotic umpire goes on Sportscenter and embarrasses himself by defending it (MLB umps always stick together, no matter what), but that was a horrendous. The ball was in left field, the ump waited about 4 seconds too late, and the fact the SS wasn't even under the ball when he peeled away made the ruling laughable. That said, it was only a piece of the puzzle. Now will St. Louis' experience be too much for the Nationals?

Rangers imploded :banana-guitar: No one worse so than Josh Hamilton. Was shocked about the amount of booing he was getting last night. Come on O's, spank the Yanks!!