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Cover yourself; your bias is showing.
..:Official 2008 AL Central Thread:..
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by nnarum,
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You can't be serious when you say Joakim Soria is better than Joe Nathan and Pat Neshek. Joe Nathan has been to 2 All-Star games while Neshek shouldhave made last year's game. The points you are making are so biased that no one is taking you seriously.
fenixconnexion
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al east > al central
but i cant believe detroit is 0-6...
but i cant believe detroit is 0-6...
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I like the Twins a lot.
and the Indians are gonna suck.
and the Indians are gonna suck.
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The points you are making are so biased that no one is taking you seriously.
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Well it's true. You're saying the Royals are going to win the division (or be at the top) which everyone knows won't happen.
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^^^^
royals will finish 3rd. everyone knows it wont happen? ESPN/baseball tonite thinks soo....
read Buster Olney's article on ESPN.com good read is you have espn insider.
royals bullpen before the game on sunday.
1 run, 16 K, 3 BB, 5 hits in 10.2 Innings
royals will finish 3rd. everyone knows it wont happen? ESPN/baseball tonite thinks soo....
read Buster Olney's article on ESPN.com good read is you have espn insider.
royals bullpen before the game on sunday.
1 run, 16 K, 3 BB, 5 hits in 10.2 Innings
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Fausto > any other pitcher in this division.
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detroit falls to the red sox. wow, 2 more loses and IM gonna start to panic for them lol. what do you change on this team when everyone you have on it issupposed to be some of the best?change batting order? send some ppl to AAA? i have no idea.
in other news, royals make front page of ESPN
http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index
in other news, royals make front page of ESPN
http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index
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what happened to this thread!!! keep it alive ppl! power rankings are out if anyone wanted to know.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/powerranking?season=2008&week=3
indians-7th
Fausto Carmona's new deal could keep him in an Indians uniform through the 2014 season.
sox-12
The White Sox lead the AL in slugging (.496) and share the lead in home runs (14) with the Angels.
royals-14
If Joey Gathright can get on base, he's a pitcher's worst nightmare. He has an AL-best six steals.
Detroit- 18
The Tigers' bullpen (0-3, 5.91) has issued a league-high 22 walks. Opponents are batting .311.
minn-22
Take it slow with Francisco Liriano. The left-hander hasn't looked sharp in either of his minor-league rehab starts.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/john_donovan/04/11/powerranks.one/index.html
royals-2
If the season-opening sweep over the Tigers didn't convince you that this is a different team, what about the series win over the Yankees? The Royals areplaying with confidence, they're playing aggressively, their bullpen has been mostly very good (closer Joakim Soria has been perfect). They didn't havetheir first real stinker of the season until Thursday in a loss to the Yankees. They're pushovers no longer.
sox-12
Ozzie Guillen's been into it with an umpire and the entire island of Puerto Rico, when he said he favored Pudge Rodriguez over Roberto Clemente. Says PaulKonerko, to the Sun-Times: "It seems like it doesn't go more than a week or 10 days without some kind of flare-up. I like it.'' Yeah, me, too.
minn-20
A lot of folks are jumping on the Jason Kubel wagon, especially after a grand slam Wednesday night in Chicago. Manager Ron Gardenhire insists he's going toget his outfielder some more ABs this year. It'll help the Twins, sure. But make them into a postseason team? If that happens, I'm on the Kubelwagon,too.
indians-22
With Fausto Carmona's signing, the Indians are taking care of one part of their near-future. That's good. Now, if they can just take care of thepresent, and get partner C.C. Sabathia going (7.59 ERA in two starts).
tigers-26
Hey, I coulda dropped the anointed ones to 30, you know. They have the worst record in baseball, if you hadn't heard (1-
. But I give them some credit forstored-up talent. It'd nice, of course, if they started to use it.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/powerranking?season=2008&week=3
indians-7th
Fausto Carmona's new deal could keep him in an Indians uniform through the 2014 season.
sox-12
The White Sox lead the AL in slugging (.496) and share the lead in home runs (14) with the Angels.
royals-14
If Joey Gathright can get on base, he's a pitcher's worst nightmare. He has an AL-best six steals.
Detroit- 18
The Tigers' bullpen (0-3, 5.91) has issued a league-high 22 walks. Opponents are batting .311.
minn-22
Take it slow with Francisco Liriano. The left-hander hasn't looked sharp in either of his minor-league rehab starts.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/john_donovan/04/11/powerranks.one/index.html
royals-2
If the season-opening sweep over the Tigers didn't convince you that this is a different team, what about the series win over the Yankees? The Royals areplaying with confidence, they're playing aggressively, their bullpen has been mostly very good (closer Joakim Soria has been perfect). They didn't havetheir first real stinker of the season until Thursday in a loss to the Yankees. They're pushovers no longer.
sox-12
Ozzie Guillen's been into it with an umpire and the entire island of Puerto Rico, when he said he favored Pudge Rodriguez over Roberto Clemente. Says PaulKonerko, to the Sun-Times: "It seems like it doesn't go more than a week or 10 days without some kind of flare-up. I like it.'' Yeah, me, too.
minn-20
A lot of folks are jumping on the Jason Kubel wagon, especially after a grand slam Wednesday night in Chicago. Manager Ron Gardenhire insists he's going toget his outfielder some more ABs this year. It'll help the Twins, sure. But make them into a postseason team? If that happens, I'm on the Kubelwagon,too.
indians-22
With Fausto Carmona's signing, the Indians are taking care of one part of their near-future. That's good. Now, if they can just take care of thepresent, and get partner C.C. Sabathia going (7.59 ERA in two starts).
tigers-26
Hey, I coulda dropped the anointed ones to 30, you know. They have the worst record in baseball, if you hadn't heard (1-
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Until Liriano comes back...
jpzx
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Haven't been in the mix for a couple days, has there been any info about if he's going to start Sunday or not?
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Wow.. Cheesecake Sabathia is garbage this year
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Originally Posted by JPZx
I'm not so sure. He had a so-so outing in Triple A but I'm still optimistic. We'll see how it plays out.
Haven't been in the mix for a couple days, has there been any info about if he's going to start Sunday or not?
Yeah, I just read on Yahoo they think he's starting...
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_y...RvLYF?slug=ap-twins-liriano&prov=ap&type=lgns
***Crosses Fingers***
jpzx
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Originally Posted by nnarum
Originally Posted by JPZx
I'm not so sure. He had a so-so outing in Triple A but I'm still optimistic. We'll see how it plays out.
Haven't been in the mix for a couple days, has there been any info about if he's going to start Sunday or not?
Yeah, I just read on Yahoo they think he's starting...
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_y...RvLYF?slug=ap-twins-liriano&prov=ap&type=lgns
***Crosses Fingers***
Sounds good, I'm hoping for a good outing. We could use some more help in the pitching area so if he shows up and does well, I'll be
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[h1]Neshek's accessibility makes him fan favorite[/h1]
By Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports 8 hours, 40 minutes ago
Pat Neshek's pants were for sale this week.
They were autographed and everything, the signature right there on the waistband, proof they'd been used in his first career spring training game. Though no one hazarded a bid, the $124.99 price tag too hefty, the pants are sure to surface at auction again alongside dozens of other items with Neshek's signature on it.
It is the product of an unlikely tale: How a 27-year-old relief pitcher became the most accessible player in Major League Baseball. Between his vow to autograph every baseball card sent to him and his communications with fans through a blog that just celebrated its fourth birthday, Neshek keeps in better touch with his fans than anyone, and they, in turn, spread the word.
By, uh, selling the pants that he traded the auctioneer for some baseball cards.
"It's kind of neat to see somebody wants something of mine," Neshek said. "I'm a middle reliever. The only time I'm in the paper is when I blow a game. So, hey, I'll take being on eBay."
Actually, Neshek's name does extend a bit beyond the Internet. Last season, he was one of baseball's best setup men, particularly in the first half when he gave up just 18 hits in 42 1/3 innings and posted a 1.70 ERA. He throws sidearm, the product of an injury in high school that left him with a slug-sized lump in his right forearm, and the speed on his fastball - up to 94 mph - makes him unique among an already distinctive breed.
In a backward way, Neshek's delivery - and the Twins' skepticism about it - helped start the blog. Though he was a sixth-round pick, Neshek was pushed slowly by the Twins, who wanted to ensure his numbers weren't flukes due to his fooling younger hitters from the sidearm angle. Two years into his career, still in Class A, Neshek saw a message board where a fan complained about not receiving an autograph. Neshek posted asking for the fan's address. Ten more fans emailed asking for an autograph.
"And I was like, 'Wow, people want to hear this about some (crappy) reliever,' " Neshek said. "So I asked them if I should start a site. I didn't expect much. I wanted to talk about autographs."
Neshek had collected baseball cards as a kid in suburban Minneapolis, the 1985 Topps Kirby Puckett his Holy Grail. As he grew up, baseball players became less inclined to sign balls and cards, and he promised not to be one of those.
So he started On the Road with Pat Neshek, which chronicled his rise to Double-A, the next year he spent there, his domination at Triple-A and, finally, his big-league debut July 7, 2006.
Eventually, more than 5,000 people registered for Neshek's message board, and he cut off new members around the All-Star game last season, when thousands poured in trying to vote for him as the American League's 32nd player. He lost to Hideki Okajima, who had a country (Japan) and a nation (Red Sox) behind him.
"I'd rather have a small community," Neshek said.
That way, he can keep at least some of it personal. When Neshek arrives at the Metrodome, a box with hundreds of envelopes greet him, from kids who just want to hear from a big leaguer and adults who want to turn a quick profit online. Those who follow Neshek's request - send a self-addressed stamped envelope! - get their cards back about three days later.
"The website, the signing," Neshek said. "It's killer."
His posts have become less frequent, the rigors of keeping a job in the major leagues taking precedent. Neshek tries to make them better, everything from the hilarious (on a signed card commemorating Alex Rodriguez's 460th home run, surrendered by Neshek, he signed his name, followed by: "I should not have thrown that pitch") to the subversive (he's getting ready to post video of him taking a line shot off his jaw while in college at Butler - "Three different angles!" he says gleefully. "Their team was taking video, a news crew was there and some mom had one in the stands.")
Neshek even delves into the revelatory. He talked this offseason about becoming a vegan and why he chose to stop eating animal products. Now he packs an extra suitcase for the road with vegetarian burgers, hot dogs, granola, fruits, vegetables, a juicer and a blender to make his own smoothies.
"Two oranges, one banana - or two if you feel frisky - a handful of frozen strawberries, a tablespoon of spirulina powder, a little teaspoon of wheatgrass powder, a teaspoon of kelp powder and brown rice protein," he said. "I think that's it. Yep. That's it."
Little is off-limits for Neshek, and perhaps that helps him resonate so well. Like he said, he's just a middle reliever, and one with flaws. His ERA jumped to 2.94 by the end of last season, and fans emailed asking why. Neshek tried his best to explain.
"I made a couple bad pitches and got beat, balls got hit and dropped in and runs came in," he wrote. "My slider sucked and hung, when you hang the slider against MLB hitters you get beat."
The honesty was refreshing, as was Neshek's means of delivery. In fact, it wasn't just Twins fans following him. This spring, Angels reliever Darren O'Day, a sidearmer who made the team as a long shot, introduced himself to Neshek. He said that he reads Neshek's blog.
Neshek thanked him. The word is spreading. And maybe one of these days those pants will go for a lot more than $124.99.
My dude Pat...
I've heard he buys cards of him off of ebay and has a collection of himself
jpzx
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why cant we beat the damn twins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
pretty good read up there lol.
pretty good read up there lol.
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The White Sox atop the Central
get used to it
get used to it
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'Cuz the Twins own KC
Not today though
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Roughly 1 month into the season the standings are not what everyone thought they would be... Granted it's only been about 20 games...
Chicago White Sox
Minnesota Twins
Kansas City Royals
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
Chicago White Sox
Minnesota Twins
Kansas City Royals
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
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^^^
were 9-11 on the second hardest month this year. idk about you, but thats a HUGE improvement over the last couple years. no one said this was gonna turn aroundover night.
were 9-11 on the second hardest month this year. idk about you, but thats a HUGE improvement over the last couple years. no one said this was gonna turn aroundover night.
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Originally Posted by Stringer Bell 32
The White Sox atop the Central
get used to it
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I'm laughing because you guys are in 3rd, AHEAD OF the two favorites! Props to KC for showing up this year.
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