LorfTVP

I was actually talking to my friends about Andruw Jones and I predicted that he would be a part of the Red Sox in 08. Any possibility or that?

 

If you can get a set up man for Coco by the deadline, do it. The bridge to Papelbon is awfully shaky unless a few guys continue to step up.

Well, the Red Sox are set for the next couple of years and the only contract over next year is Lowell's. I see them trying to stay cheap with Crisp, Pena, and Ellsbury rather than jump into the fray for any of the free agent outfielders next year. I think the importance of a strong pitching staff will be stressed by this year's success and a lot of money will go into the bullpen.

what do you think of ellsbury?

He's inarguably the top talent in the Red Sox system right now. He's a tremendous defender who is fast and can hit for gap power that can only improve as he matures. Here is a good page on him from soxprospects.com. It's gonna get complicated in the Red Sox outfield soon barring the a trade of Manny with Drew and Crisp signed to long term deals and Pena on the bench. The Sox hope to give him his time in the minors though. He'll be up in September but probably won't start barring injuries.

To the New York Yankee organization and all its fans, I tip my cap. You performed admirably under the circumstances and gave us a run for our money. Your rookie starters and overworked bullpen (when will Torre learn) lost it for you but your offense hammered our top three starters. Keep on mashing and I'm sure against weaker hitting teams, your pitching will improve, especially with Wang and Mussina coming back. The only question this series was would the Yankees let up more runs than they scored? But kudos, a great series. I'm looking forward to our first healthy series against each other because we were banged up in the Yankees five game sweep at Fenway and you are obviously in the same position now, albeit with a much stronger offense.

I'm not worried at all about our top three guys at this point because the Yankees were hitting good pitches, bad pitches, and everything in between. Papelbon and Okajima have both continued to impress this series...although I question Francona bringing in Okajima to face Giambi when Romero was warmed up. Romero has been used incorrectly by Francona this season, he's become a lefty specialist (holding opponents to a .200 avg two years running) and he doesn't realize it. Manny said he'd get hot today and he did. And holy shit, four home runs in a row, any fan of baseball has to be amazed by a feat like that. I'm hoping this will ignite our offense and that our pitching will recover against non-Yankee mashers.

As for the Yankees, I hope you get healthy, it's only fair. As soon as your pitching returns, they could be completely mediocre and you'll win ballgames. The problem is that right now, they aren't mediocre, they're just bad. And the carryover effect on the bullpen is tremendous. Who would've thought that our pitching staffs, the bullpen in particular, would be on opposite sides of the spectrum at this point.

Overall, good series, and I look forward to facing you next week in the belly of the beast.

I don't believe I've ever actually seen him get a hit in a Sox uniform. I hear he has done it, though. :brooding:

Well, he's been thrown in a tough situation, and barring a trade of Manny, it won't be any easier with Ellsbury in the minors itching to play center field. Pena did his best last year when he had consistent playing time and it's a shame that he's been relegated to the bench but nobody can deny his potential and immense power. That single HR in Toronto was a blast to straightaway center field.

Blackout syndrome

 

Whatever it took to keep MLB's Extra Innings package on cable, we're grateful. But we're starting to hear those annual complaints from customers who can't watch what they thought they had signed up for, even after shelling out their $179, thanks to MLB's often-puzzling blackout regulations. Well, for the first time, there's hope.

 

Triviality

In Jackie Robinson's MVP season of 1949, he drove in 124 runs, stole 37 bases and got 203 hits. Only one active player has had a season in which he matched or beat all three of those numbers in the same year. Can you name him? (Answer later.)

 

We're hearing that a discussion of those blackout rules is on the agenda for next month's owners meeting. And indications are that it's Bud Selig's intention to fix this mess ASAP. We've also heard that teams have been asked to submit info to MLB specifically outlining all the distant locations in their "territory" where they're actually on some form of local TV. MLB then intends to crack down on clubs that are claiming certain areas as their turf if, in reality, those claims actually are preventing fans of that team from seeing games even if they're willing to pay for Extra Innings.

 

It's one thing for clubs to protect their right to cut local TV deals. But it's a big problem for the industry if the effect is, essentially, to tell fans: "You can't be a fan of this team anymore." Nevertheless, it isn't as simple as it sounds. So stay tuned.

There's some hope yet.

11 strikeouts in 5 1/2 IP.

Damn.

Same thing as last year. It's like when they go on the road, I expect doom, and they don't disappoint. They score 8 runs a game at home, then make the Tomo Ohkas and Gustavo Chacins of the world look like Cy Young. They won't win anything this year if they can't get this figured out.

Well, Chacin has always had the Red Sox' number so there's a little bit of history there. The way I see it now is that the offense has been struggling of late and a lot of players have yet to get started so it's way too early to make such a claim. I mean, heck, I can't complain about runs at Fenway Park but as long as we can score enough on the road to win, I'm happy. Tomo Ohka wasn't pitching that well, he left a lot of floaters that we missed until Mirabelli, Lowell, and Ortiz went homer happy. Give it some time, the weather will warm up, and so will the offense. I hope Manny's HR tonight means that he's back because we need him in between Ortiz and Drew.

may I ask, what the hell are they doing moving a 1 or 2 starter in the rotation to a setup man and move Lieber to the rotation. I really don't know to either or

1. Raise Lieber's trade value.

2. Give Myers a chance to work on his pitches.

I think this was just as much Gillick and the front office as it was Charlie Manuel. This is a risky move but if it means they can trade Lieber for the pieces they need come September, then it will be worth it.

I don't know. i had mvp 05. I had to move to this game because of the mlb contract. I did not do this by choice MVP 05 was so far the best baseball game. I hope MLB has minor league teams next year.

Amen!

He just threw 4 straight fastballs to Vlad and struck him out with a man on 1st and 2nd with 1 out, Vlad fouled the first 3 off. Last strike was 97 mph.

Not gonna lie, that was pretty damn impressive, throwing four straight fastballs to an excellent fastball hitter who can hit anything. But VG, I'd still say that save down in Texas was significantly more impressive. He's struck out 6 of 10 batters so far this year.

I believe in Daisuke Matsuzaka more than I ever did before...especially with his poise, control, and ability to handle the pressure. Highly doubtful? Haha. This kid is real and I dare you to find anyone in baseball who disagrees with me. When fans blabber on, it's one thing, but baseball players and management from both the Red Sox and all over the sport have been singing his praises.

I don't get all the sarcasm. VG has a good point. I agree with you, Rangers fan, but I will continue to say that the problem in baseball today is a complete lack of dedication. A player who completely dedicates himself to the game is bound to do incredibly well. Look at these young guys who have improved by leaps and bounds by dedicating themselves to the game...Jose Reyes for instance. I don't feel like getting in a full argument right now because I'm losing sperm by the minute with this laptop in my lap though. Kudos to Zack Greinke though if we're talking about dedication. He went through some tough times, anxiety, depression, etc. but he's come back and has looked pretty damn good in his first two starts. Tejada needs a day off.

Ohhhhhhhhhhh, his NAME is Lorf. I thought that was short hand for Lord of the... Anyway, good story but dark. If Lorf developed a taste from human flesh while avenging his family, how exactly did he manage to become taller than a person?

 

Also, now that he is no longer a runt has he rallied other penguins to his cause or is he still a shunned loner?

 

BTW did Lorf see Happy Feet, what did he or would he make of that?

What will be Lorfs catharsis or redemption. How does he attain peace or satisfaction. Or is he doomed to be tortured which would be quite Norse. I went out with a Norwegian girl and theyre quite depressing.

Some things in life can't be explained, Lorf's unnatural growth and increase in strength is one of them. I've never actually thought about his standing with the other penguins. Hmm, thanks for that, I think I can definitely work with that...because honestly, I hate writing human characters. But it also opens up a lot of opportunities to fully develop his character.

Lorf did not see Happy Feet but his creator did and left the theatre pleased. Lorf on the other hand, while admiring the strength of our young hero and also sympathizing with his abandonment through his own experience, thought him too naive and unable to fully comprehend the evils of humanity and the punishment they so rightly deserved.

Lorf's judgement day has not yet come.

Mike with another shot, this one a 3 run blast to bring it to 6-5 Rays.

Go Michael Young!

He'll never quite earn the distinction of being my best fantasy shortstop ever (Jose Reyes) but I have no problem with him trying.

Dominated. Totally. Jesus, Felix Hernandez is scary good.

That was painful to watch but we really got to hand it to both King Felix and the Seattle defense. I felt that we weren't getting calls all night but with the way Felix Hernandez pitched, I don't think we could've done much with it. It was only two years ago that he was the biggest prospect in baseball and last year's peripheral stats were much better than his ERA. But yah, don't worry, we have Jarrod Washburn tomorrow and that should be fun.

I'm hearing a lot of shit about Daisuke which pisses me off. He didn't have the same sharp control he did in KC today but he still put together a really good outing, allowing 8 hits and 1 walk in 7 innings of 3 run ball with four strikeouts. I'm still pleased with what he gave us and think that any other day, we could win that game. It's just that Felix Hernanez may have finally put it together and we're only the second of countless teams he'll steamroll this season. 2 W, 18 K, 4 H, and 4 BB in 17 innings of shutout ball.

Still looking forward to Daisuke's next start...and fuck it, tomorrow's game!

An interesting observation about your LorfTVP theme is that he has to be a Lord which suggests an immature mind that has not figured out the very common separation between authoritative and physical power; between being good at something and needing a birthright to legitimize oneself. One could also make the DeTocqueville-esque observation that considering you are an American (I'm assuming) that your democratic heritage would and should revile against nobility but almost sheeplike you (and many others, to be fair) seem to grasp at a hierarchy based on qualities other than personal talent. It would appear that even in whomever that artist's fantasies the penguin needs to be in charge but where are the other viking penguins? Is he the only one? A loner lord with no kingdom and no future? Or will this be a slave state where the penguins will lord it over some lesser animal.

 

Sexually the horns are ironic considering the viking helmets never sported them, that is a counterfactual fiction from the 19th century revival of FOlklore and Myth.

 

Now, about the violent aspects of this penguin...

Haha, some interesting observations. I am quite aware of the ludicrous nature of the horns but I felt that the picture would be lacking otherwise with the typical Viking helmet design. I've watched a good deal of History Channel and whatnot so most of what I know is (hopefully) closer to the truth than hearsay.

Okay, would you like me to truly delve into the history of Lorf, the Viking Penguin? He was born a runt among penguins who was shunned by his tuxedoed brethren. One day, while exploring the icy glaciers of Antarctica, Lorf and his sister, the only one who he trusted, found a Viking helmet lodged into a glacial wall. After numerous attempts at pulling it out failed, Lorf and his sister pecked away at the edges and released the helmet. Since it was too heavy for the two to pull back, Lorf's sister went back home to gather aid.

When Lorf finally arrived with the helmet after no help had arrived, he witnessed a site so shocking as to offend any fowl's senses. Tuxedo hunters, human of course, had massacred most of his family and he had arrived just in time to see an archer shoot an arrow through his sister's leg. He was about to run to her aid when the hunter pulled the arrow from her leg and pierced her through the skull. It was at that point that Lorf swore revenge on human beings. He entered their encampment after days of travel, and since he was so small, he stood no chance in a head to head battle. So, wise as he was, Lorf pecked out the men's eyes and ripped gashes in the tents so that the cold would kill the men. It was here where Lorf developed a taste for human flesh.

Upon his return home, he looked over the blood soaked ice fields and realized that there was nothing left for him there so he went back to the glacial wall where he trained, destroyed the wall, and soon uncovered a full suit's worth of armor. By this point, he had grown larger than any other penguin with a ferocity to match.

There's no middle story as of yet but basically he ended up taking over the world, fighting God, getting tricked by the devil, etc. The usual. Lorf rules the world with an iron fist, enslaves all that he can, and will spill blood to get his way. He does show weakness in the story though, there are no omnipotent characters.

But as to your analysis, I've never been a fan of analyzing stuff to the point where they're not enjoyable anymore. Despite being an English major, I feel that it is a sin to tear books apart rather than enjoying them for what they are. Lorf started out as a character in a story, and while some of the characteristics that I do not have made their way into this character, he is nothing more than a mere product of my imagination with no governmental opinions involved.

A-Rod goes deep today again...what's gotten into him, or maybe what's left him?

Ever considered that he just got pissed off and trained himself? I heard he worked on leg work over the winter to improve his running game as well. He could've tinkered with his stance from last season or at least reinforced what he does best. He is a god damn amazing player.

I don't know how you can possibly make that assessment after 5 games. I was really concerned, though, and still am, about all the holes in the lineup. Varitek, Crisp, Lowell, Pedroia- that's a lot of question marks to go into the season with.

It's interesting...you're offense is clicking, ours is stalwart. Your pitchers haven't gotten out of the 5th inning yet but ours have thrown a couple of real gems. Our bullpen also has an era below 3. But anyway, I'm still a bit worried about Tek and Lowell but from what I've seen from Pedroia, he makes a lot of solid contact and only bad luck will prevent him from a .300 avg. Crisp as well, he's looked bad in a couple of games but really good in others. Thing is, he's not on the back end of his career like Lowell and Tek. Now I know we do have HUGE questions but I'm amazed at how people are doubting every single player. I don't think of Beckett as much of a question mark because there were a lot of factors to deal with last year through blister fears, AL East opponents, shaking off Tek...but he's had an impressive spring and first start. Ortiz is a god, Manny hit three balls right to the warning track today, Jonathon Papelbon continues to amaze me...did you see the end of tonight's game? Wow, such pitch conservation too...he just dominated and made you guys look silly. Sorry, VG. Good series, shame I only got to watch the last game. Lastly, Schilling, I don't think there's any reason to worry. How is every article about the downfall of his career right after a single bad start to start the season in frigid KC temperatures. But hey, dominated today. I'll take it. VG, I'm rooting for you again.

yes, Andrew Dice K. Like I said, he will be very good this year and possibly next year as well, but not long after. He has logged a ton of innings and thrown a ton of pitches in his already long career...he came out of HS to the majors in Japan. And to be fair, the royals are awful, their offense is so inexperienced, not really the team to judge him by, but he was very good. i dont mean to down play his outing, but you have to consider it.

I understand where you're coming from but my argument has to be his sustained success in Japan and a career relatively free of major injuries. The Royals are a weaker offense, no doubt, but if you watched the game then you'd be as impressed as I am right now. The box score only says so much but he showed a lot of poise on the mound, a lot of movement on his pitches, good defense behind home plate, etc. Most importantly, he performed, and I have every reason to believe he'll be just as good. The pitches don't bother me that much because if you look in the past, some of these pitchers threw 300, 400 innings in prolonged careers. It's all mechanics to me and I think he has pretty good ones.

if Im a GM Im not spending $100 mill on anyone who is not Latin or a good old American honkie.

 

I agree with Midas, Andrew will be good, but not for a long time...bottom line...he will be waived or traded well before his contract is over

Andrew? Are we still talking about Daisuke Matsuzaka? I think that Red Sox nation will be in love with Matsuzaka for at least three years with there being a possibility of him losing favor, if he starts stinking up the joint (though I don't see that happening), afterwards. Pedro had our hearts in the beginning but lost it, as did Nomar...even Manny! Sox fans are fickle but as long as Matsuzaka continues what he did today, things are looking good.

what, you don't think durham was born for the cleanup spot?

 

meanwhile, if dicey k doesn't win tonite, epstein enters witness protection.

Looks like there's no reason for Theo Sanchez to move to Texas.

how is Cain? He is on my fantasy team and it looks like he does not have a bad record from last year.

He's a pretty damn good young strikeout pitcher. He's one of the few bright spots on the Giants roster. I mean, not that Rich Aurilia and Ray Durham don't strike my fancy. I'm looking forward to Tim Lincecum coming up...or however you spell his name.

the Yankees rotation is fine, its actually alot better than most people are giving them credit for. Seriously, what team has a dominating pitching staff from top to bottom? None, every team in the league has issues with their rotation so Id bank on the team that can out slug anyone. Wang, Mussina and Pettite are as good a top three as any team. So Mussina and Pettite dont throw 95+, they still post good era's and they win. Not to mention the Yankees have one of the best bullpens in the league. And we have guys that should and will be called up before Hughes.....bottom line we dont see Hughes until September

Well, count me as one of those who aren't giving the Yankees rotation enough credit, at least to start off the year. I will give Wang, Mussina, and Pettite nods as good pitchers but I'm old fashioned enough to believe in a staff ace which I don't think you have. I mean, those guys are all good but is there anyone that you can really depend on to break a losing streak? No doubt the Yankees offense will lead the league, especially with health on their side. Mussina and Pettite are both really smart pitchers and I'll give them their due. I've gone over my argument about Wang and the volatility of sinkerballers many times before and I expect an ERA in the low 4s for him. As for the young guys, my bet is that until people get healthy, it will be a revolving door of Karstens, Igawa, Pavano, Rasner, etc.

Sorry, I got sidetracked. The Yankees are an amazing team in terms of offense and bullpen, a bit shoddy on defense but adequate, and their pitching rotation has a lot of questions with a couple of guys on the wrong side of 30. I'm not discounting the rotation and I'm amazed at the Yankees shooting up in Baseball America's prospect rankings but everything will have to go right for the Yankees to have a top rotation this year. I say that they're like the Mets in that they have a prolific offense and questionable pitching.

Wrong. Cano was out for a large portion of the year. He missed a solid thirty games. If not 40.

Haha, I love how you pick your arguments. But yah, I admit, I was amazed that the Yankees continued their offensive production with all the injuries to their team. Same thing happened to us but we couldn't really do much about it when Trot, Tek, Ortiz, and Manny all went down after the break. Despite Cano's time out, he provided an incredible amount of offense when he was around and that in turn strengthened the lineup and Cabrera's production. He's a good complementary player but I can't see Melky carrying a team. I'm not going to compare him to our guy, I'm not making any Wily Mo Pena comparisons or saying that we're better...I was just trying to argue that I don't think Melky is as valuable as the New York media makes him out to be. Great defense, good guy, solid production but nothing spectacular and we have no idea what to expect from him in terms of consistency.

zito gets shelled

Haha, tell us something we don't know.