Summer The Baseball Thread

[NeoShweaty]

Any fans of the old ball game here? I have to say, that of all the sports, i follow this one the closest. Since the season is so far away, how about some favorite teams and/or some favorite baseball moments

Let me preface this by saying i was born and raised in the Bronx. My favorite team is without a doubt the New York Mets. Man, what a rollercoaster the playoffs were, particularly the NLCS. I saw game seven in my dorm's common room with a bunch of people. That top of the ninth homerun absolutely crushed me. One of my favorite baseball moments, that i was alive for was the mets making the world series. I became a fan in 1999 and saw the team blossom (only to be crushed by the fuckin yankees) and make the playoffs. Man, Al Leiter, Mike Piazza, Edgardo Alfonso, John Olerud, etc. What a team. Hopefully the new mets have what it takes to make it back. Last year they definitely did. Let's see how they retool in the offseason in order to make a run.

 

[Gold Knight]

Re: Baseball Topic

I've been a Chicago Cubs fan because I used to live up there in Illinois for a few months near Wrigley Field. But these last few years have been especially hard on me as a fan and I didn't even follow last year's season. I did watch the World Series though, and I HATE the Cardinals, so to say the least I didn't really want them to win at all. Ugh.

The only other team I keep tabs on would be the Atlanta Braves; they're my local area's favorite team and the one that the newspapers follow all the time here.

 

[Venom65437]

Re: Baseball Topic

A Mets fan.... I'm a Braves fan.....

Too bad we won't pay to keep anyone anymore. I'm not stupid... Andruw Jones will go to the highest bidder before the deadline.

 

[NeoShweaty]

Re: Baseball Topic

A Mets fan.... I'm a Braves fan.....

OHHH man, you have no idea how much i hate the braves. There were just too many times that the mets were that close and the braves came with their tomahawk chop and destroyed us. Luckily, we kept them in the rear view last year.

GK, you hate the cards? YOU hate the cards? ahem, well, i hate their catcher more than anything. IT WAS GAME SEVEN IN THE TOP OF THE NINTH AND HE GETS A HOME RUN?!?!?!? Sadly, im still bitter about last year.

Being a cubs fan is tough though, Prior, Wood and Zambrano should have been the lights out combo that would lead them to the promised land, however, Prior and Wood... well, ill say this, Zambrano cant do it on his own.

 

[Gold Knight]

Re: Baseball Topic

I don't think I've ever gotten over the Steve Bartman incident - I had never believed that the Cubs were cursed, that is, until that game. We were well on our way to winning that series, and bam, all of a sudden everything goes wrong. I've never been more disappointed in a sports team in my life.

I had been an avid baseball fan until that playoff game, too. Now I just follow the sport sporadically. I'm totally a football guy now.

And every time one of our pitchers get hurt, I think "goat curse."

And sorry Neo, but as a Cubs fan (and especially as a former Southern Illinois resident, surrounded by annoying Cards fans) I think I have more of a case to hate the Cards than you do, heh. I hate that they've been so successful this decade.

 

[blasta]

Re: Baseball Topic

Im from Canada so I'm naturally a Blue Jays fan! Blue Jays have been doing lots of signings these past years and I'm excited about the upcoming season for my Jays. They just signed Vernon Wells to a big deal and got the Big Hurt (Frank Thomas) who was helping the Oakland A's last year so much even though he getting old.

American League is fun and I always get to see the Yankees and Red Sox because Jays play them a lot and I also like that I get to see the Big Papi, Jeter etc.. a bunch of times. I don't get to watch much National League games though so barely get to see the Braves, Cubs, and Mets but I still watch highlights, news, and look at mlb site to see whats going on around both leagues.

 

[Venom65437]

Re: Baseball Topic

And Neo, you don't know how much I hate the Mets!!!

Chipper Jones is my favorite player by the way.

Either way, hopefully our upgraded bullpen will perform and we can have a chance this year. We blew almost 30 saves last year!!! 30!!! Thank God we have a real closer now. My only question is why we didn't pull the trigger sooner last year. Oh well...

 

[NeoShweaty]

Re: Baseball Topic

GK, i guess you have a better case for hating the cards, lol. Still though, i never bought the Bartman thing. It was just like the red sox in 86 with one exception, the bartman foul ball didnt end the game. They had a chance to finish the series in that game and in the next, so i see it as more of a cubs collapse rather than the curse at work. Then again, after years of similar stuff, i can see why you are more of a football fan. I mean, the saying "on any given sunday" (and what preceeds or follows it) always applies. Baseball is more about the better team over all.

Blasta, i always saw the blue jays as being seriously unlikely by being placed in the same division with the red sox and the yankees, but if last year was any indication of how things are going, than they have a good shot at the wild card, at least because the Red Sox arent what they used to be and i hope all the players on the yankees team get injured....

Venom:
Chipper jones is your favorite player? The man who named his kid shea? lol, man i hope the braves dont get back on their horses this year. No matter how good the mets teams were, i never thought the mets could beat the braves in the playoffs. Just something about their rivalry. Then again, Armando Benitez was responsible for alot of our loses at key moments. I even think that had the mets met the braves in the 2000 playoffs that they would have lost (although, they couldnt have done any worse than the year before, what with Rogers walking in the winning run in the NLCS).

 

[Venom65437]

Re: Baseball Topic

It's all about Chipper man... he's really got "it" against the Mets. But he's also just a great player period. I love him!

 

[Gold Knight]

Re: Baseball Topic

Just promise me one thing guys, when the season starts do the really ugly trash-talking in private messages, heh.

Anyway, Neo, whether it's the Bartman incident or just an overall Cubs collapse, I was pretty disappointed either way. That was the year I thought the Cubs had all the cards to finally make the World Series at least. It just made me sick. REALLY sick. That was also around the same time I broke up the second time with the first serious girlfriend I've ever had, so needless to say the memories are nothing but bad.

But that's one team I won't stop being a fan of, because they've given me so many good memories. Otherwise I definitely would have become a Braves fan by now, heh.

 

[NeoShweaty]

Re: Baseball Topic

Damn, 2003 sucked for you then GK. I see where you're coming from. Dont worry about trash talk. Im not enough of a rabid fan to vent frustrations on a fellow baseball fan. At best, it will be a little fan gamesmenship.

 

[Venom65437]

Re: Baseball Topic

Well, I'll try to contain myself.... but Phil and I have talked plenty of sports... so, well... I get a little fired up you could say.

I really hate the Mets.

 

[NeoShweaty]

Re: Baseball Topic

Well, I'll try to contain myself.... but Phil and I have talked plenty of sports... so, well... I get a little fired up you could say.

I really hate the Mets.

Hate all you want, but you'll be doing it from behind us in the standings.

 

[Venom65437]

Re: Baseball Topic

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sadly, I'm afraid I agree with you. Unless our bullpen really steps up... and we keep Andruw (we won't.) But who knows. It's so on, bitch!

 

[Binky]

Re: Baseball Topic

Well, despite my nationality I'm actually a huge baseball fan, the Mariners being my team of choice and I've actually visited Seattle and managed to watch some games against Boston and Toronto while I was there. I've followed baseball since about 2001 (Yes, this may be why I like the Mariners, glory-hunting syndrome ) when it was regularly on every Sunday at 2-3am, with a disproportionate amount of Mariners games.

My pet gripe in baseball terms however is whining about the fact that Jim McCormick, who admittedly I only took an interest in because of his birthplace and the fact he's got the same name as me, is not in the Hall of Fame despite being the youngest pitcher ever to achieve 250 wins plus countless other achievements, it annoys me.

If you're interested, HERE's my spiel in his favour.

EDIT: Incidentally and psuedo-on-topic, are there any baseball Manga or anime, I've wanted to watch or read something sportsy? I know there're American Football ones out there, but I'm a Rugby player, no way I can overcome that ingrained bias, so baseball'd be cool.

 

[Venom65437]

Re: Baseball Topic

You're probably right that he should be in, but sports Hall of Fames are a joke really. We could write a whole novel on players that should be in... players that maybe SHOULDN'T, and how flawed the process is in general...[br]Posted on: January 20, 2007, 05:09:46 PM_________________________________________________So just out of curiosity, with the season coming up, anyone like fantasy baseball? I have never done it, but I did play fantasy football and it was pretty entertaining. Anyway, if there are some people interested, we could have our own little league at Yahoo, I'd set it up and everything.

Any takers?

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Ok, so I'm taking it no one is interested. That's ok, looking forward to the start of the season, only a few weeks away!

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The season starts Sunday! Whose excited??

 

[PaperYomiko]

Re: Baseball Topic

The season starts Sunday! Whose excited??

I am!
First game was tonight...except my cable wasn't working, so I only saw the ninth inning, and it was a disaster, 1-7

 

[Venom65437]

Re: Baseball Topic

Well we're 1-0! Atlanta will surely go undefeated this year!

 

[PaperYomiko]

Re: Baseball Topic

undefeated, huh? I'd buy you a beer if that were the case

well we won tonight, 7-1, so balance has been restored in the universe.

 

[Gold Knight]

Re: Baseball Topic

Same here. Cubs are 1-1 right now and after the lame game Zambrano had against the Reds in losing 5-1 on Monday, looks like we got a better pitcher in Ted Lilly right now, he schooled the Reds 4-1 tonight.

PaperYomiko, who's your team?