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HankthaTank

2011 MLB Season Thread

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Orioles are hot right now, and you can't expect JV to be perfect every night. Even if the Tigers can pull into a tie with Texas, Detroit gets home field, too.

I am by no means upset with JV because of that start. He was too hyped up early on, but I don't blame him.

That being said, the Orioles are indeed playing well but they are also a last place team and the third worst team in the AL. If the Tigers want to play at home in the ALDS, they need to beat lesser teams with nothing to play for. Texas isn't having any issues doing what they need to.

I don't even really think home field means much in baseball, but in this case the difference between the two possible opponents is definitely worth striving for. Lester just got shelled yesterday -- he's likely going to pitch again on short rest Wednesday meaning he wouldn't even start in the ALDS until Game 3. I like the Tigers chances at home with JV and Fister against Beckett and maybe Erik Bedard better than at Yankee Stadium against CC and Nova.

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I think we have gotten the best of the pitcher deals at the deadline. Fister out-duels Jimenez in the deadline acquisition game today. Verlander/Fister is looking like a formidable duo going into the ALDS.

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I think we have gotten the best of the pitcher deals at the deadline. Fister out-duels Jimenez in the deadline acquisition game today. Verlander/Fister is looking like a formidable duo going into the ALDS.

Oh yeah, not even close. Dombrowski looks better every day by not trading for Jimenez and getting Fister instead.

Saw an interesting stat on Twitter: Fister has five wins in September, the Red Sox have six as a team. AL Wild Card is now tied; Red Sox led by nearly ten games a month ago. If it comes to a tie and there is a one game play-in, the Rays are going to make the playoffs.

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I was thinking today about the AL MVP. There's a lot of talk about J.V., Granderson, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Gonzalez, and even Bautista (which I think is a joke) from the 4th place Blue Jays getting votes. Personally I think Cabrera should win it, especially if the Red Sox can't hold on. Miggy is going to hit over .340, highest in both leagues, have 30 HR, 100+ RBI, 100+ Runs, 40+ 2B, .450 OBP, 1.030 OPS. The guy's flat out done it all for the Tigers!

Edit: Granderson will probably get it, and well deserved, being a CF and with his 41 HR, 135 Runs, and 119 RBI. But any sabermetrics geeks should give Cabrera a serious look.

Edited by Barrie

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Stats count a great deal, but how valuable is Granderson to the Yankees? they have A-rod, Teixeira, Cano, Jeter, Martin, Jones, Swisher, and Posada in their everyday lineup as well as Granderson. Take one out of that mix and you still have a first place playoff team. Take Cabby out of the mix for Detroit, and you have a .500 team. Simple as that.

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Stats count a great deal, but how valuable is Granderson to the Yankees? they have A-rod, Teixeira, Cano, Jeter, Martin, Jones, Swisher, and Posada in their everyday lineup as well as Granderson. Take one out of that mix and you still have a first place playoff team. Take Cabby out of the mix for Detroit, and you have a .500 team. Simple as that.

I agree. Also I think with Boston being a disappointment, none of their players should be in the mix. Not that Pedroia, Ellsbury, and Gonzalez had bad years, but the Red Sox were supposed to run away with the AL!

That leaves Verlander, Granderson, and Cabrera in my opinion. Down to those 3, Cabrera's my pick (having the highest Batting Average in both League is the difference maker for me), with J.V. taking a unanimous Cy Young.

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Verlander has the Cy Young award in his back pocket, and he's walking out the door. He has a strong showing for the MVP as well, but if Pedro Martinez in '99 didn't get the MVP, Verlander won't get it this year. Don't ask me why, it makes no sense, but the writers are hesitant to give the MVP to a non-everyday player. I don't think that's fair, because a pitcher can absolutely be the most valuable player on their team, and in the whole league, but I think the last pitcher to get the MVP was Clemens in the 80s.

Though if they did break with tradition and give it to him, he'd absolutely deserve it.

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don't short Papa... he has 49. lol, great regular season, I have to admit I did not think we would get the division this season, but a happy surprise it was! Looking forward to Friday, bring on whoever it may be.

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Tigers/Yankees again, thanks to the Angels throwing in the towel the past three days. I think Mike Scioscia might be the best manager in baseball, but he just handed the Rangers home field. Maybe some payback for the Weaver/Guillen incident? Oh well, 95 wins for the Tigers and you have to beat the best to win it all anyways.

What an absolutely amazing night in baseball right now. I keep changing the channel to watch it all play out. Rays just came from 7 down to tie the Yankees with 2 outs in the 9th. Red Sox up a run on the Orioles. Cardinals already won and now the Braves are tied with the Phillies in extra innings and have to win to force a play-in game tomorrow.

This is baseball heaven.

Edited by GoWings1905

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I feel better as a Tigers fan when other teams blow massive September leads.

What a complete collapse by the Braves. Phillies/Cardinals and Brewers/D-Backs in the NL.

EDIT: WOW! The Red Sox were one strike away from winning and lost and Longoria just hit a walk-off homer for the Rays. Two incredible September meltdowns.

Edited by GoWings1905

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Nights like these are the reason I love sports. I have no real vested interest in either of these teams, but 3 consecutive hits off Papelbon in the bottom of the 9th with two outs to score the tying and winning runs? Longoria hitting a home run in the bottom of the twelfth for the clinch? You can't help but be excited!

Edited by InKennyWeTrust

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Craziest 2 minutes in baseball history. What a night. Monumental collapses by the Braves and Sox. Heads will roll in the next few days. That is almost unacceptable. I am kinda scared of TB right now, but we will have to deal with that when we get there.

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Maybe some payback for the Weaver/Guillen incident? Oh well, 95 wins for the Tigers and you have to beat the best to win it all anyways.

I thought there might be something there, too, but Weaver and Santana were both over on their innings already. With nothing to play for, I guess it's not terribly surprising.

Craziest 2 minutes in baseball history. What a night. Monumental collapses by the Braves and Sox. Heads will roll in the next few days. That is almost unacceptable. I am kinda scared of TB right now, but we will have to deal with that when we get there.

Amazing come backs (and meltdowns) in both of the Wild Card races. Times like this makes you understand why people don't want to expand the number of playoff teams. I think Tampa Bay's luck might run out. They had to play their asses off just to get in and might be out of gas before too long.

That said - I hope their pitching staff quiets the Rangers first.

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don't short Papa... he has 49.

Yea I found out after it was 49. I blame foxsports.com, before I posted that comment after the Tigers won last night, I went over and checked his stats and it said 47. I added 1 more giving him 48. They were two days behind with their stats.

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Predictions? I am pretty pumped about all of these series.

Yankees/Tigers in five

Rangers/Rays in four

Phillies/Cardinals in four

Brewers/D-Backs in three

Also, interested to see the Tigers ALDS roster tomorrow morning.

The MLB playoffs are my favorite of the big 4 sports. Besides the travel days, I like how they play every night. The NHL drives me crazy when they take the extra day off to get on TV Saturday night, leaving the playoffs to drag on and on and on and on. MLB, just like NFL, has everything done in a month.

I'll take the Tigers, Rangers, Phillies, and Brewers in the 1st round, like you did, with the Tigers and Brewers advancing to the World Series.

I'm looking forward to 8:37 Friday night, Verlander vs. Sabathia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpFITa9eYoQ

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I was watching both the Braves/Phillies game and the Yanks/Rays closely. Knew history would be made somehow. Longoria looked like he was on a mission last night and came through big. The Braves were so close too, been a long Chipper fan and he was so close to winning the game for them in I think the tenth with that long hit that would've sent Bourn home (from first base! kid is super fast), but I think it was Martinez that made that amazing catch. What a great night. Respect to Manuel too, playing the game with integrity unlike Girardi (and Sciosia if you believe he pulled Weaver and Santana on purpose and played 5 rookies).

Btw, it's looking like Fister will start in game 2 against Nova-- Scherzer going in Game 3 and Porcello Game 4 if needed. I'm feeling pretty confident in this series going with Verlander and Fister first.

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If you really believe Girardi threw the game, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to sell you. If you actually watched the game last night (not that I'd expect any of you to give a s*** about the Yankees, obviously) you'd have noticed Girardi played all the regulars for the bulk of the game, and then when it was apparent it was a blow-out, began substituting them for the bench players. That's nothing no other manager wouldn't do in a blow out. He'd said that Rivera wasn't going to pitch, which meant that Soriano and Robertson weren't going to pitch either. So our three best relievers would see no action, no matter the score/inning.

Our bats were on the bench, our best relievers weren't playing, and the dregs had to hold a 7-run lead. They didn't. That happens. It's not throwing the game, it's not tanking the game, it's not phoning it in. It was not a necessary game for the Yankees, meaning you weren't going to see an injured Alex Rodriguez make a PH appearance at any time, nor were you going to see the above-mentioned relievers in the game either. It was up to the scrubs and the bottom of our pen to hold Tampa down, and they were unable to.

The fact that Girardi actually started all his regulars last night and even said before the game he was doing so because in essence, he didn't want people to think that the Yankees were intentionally losing games to keep the Red Sox out, should be evidence enough that there was no intentional tank job going on. If Girardi really wanted to phone it in, he'd have not started any regulars last night and had Nick Swisher and his 0.00 ERA pitch. THAT would have been throwing the game.

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