SB Nation User Blog: ThundaPC

Tanner Scheppers

ThundaPC — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:31:30 -0000

Tanner Scheppers

...is broken.

Re: Tickling: "If someone else did it here, I’d probably punch them in the face."

ThundaPC — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:34:27 -0000

Re: Tickling: "If someone else did it here, I’d probably punch them in the face."

Oh that Ichiro!

Announcers lambast umpires for making correct assumption

ThundaPC — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:07:43 -0000

Announcers lambast umpires for making correct assumption

Bobby Jenks (White Sox) throws inside to send a message to Texas in the 9th inning (5/9). Home Plate Ump issues a warning. Ken Harrelson says they should get some umpires who know what they're doing.

Carlos Silva ----> DL; Vargas in rotation

ThundaPC — Sat, 09 May 2009 20:43:27 -0000

Per Baker:

Just got the word that Carlos Silva has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation and stiffness in his right shoulder. Jason Vargas now moves to the rotation in his place and takes Silva's scheduled spot next Tuesday in Arlington, Tex. against the Rangers.

Brandon Morrow comes off the DL today and fills the vacant roster spot.

Silva had stiffness in his shoulder two weeks ago, when he won his only start this season in Anaheim against the Angels. Still, the M's let him go out for two more starts to try to make it work and he couldn't.

.....

Silva will be eligible to come off the DL on May 22.

All righty then.

Larry Stone's getting good content from some MLB General Managers

ThundaPC — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:56:22 -0000

I posted this in the Mariners/Rays preview thread but I feel it deserves it's own fanpost. Lots of good stuff from Larry Stone as of late. If Geoff Baker has the coverage of the Mariners daily happening cornered, Larry Stone can carve a fascinating niche covering aspects of other teams, especially if he can connect with the GMs of said teams.

Column: Spring training neighbors Padres and Mariners are now sharing the spotlight.

Headline doesn't look like much but inside we get some insight on how Padres GM Kevin Towers cobbled together their team given their situation.

"Most of our 'pen was truly put together with 10 days to go in spring training," Towers said. "And starting — [Shawn] Hill came late; [Walter] Silva really didn't pitch until the last couple of weeks of spring training. It was kind of the lightning round putting our pitching staff together."

And that was the result of Towers' realistic assessment of his team at the outset of spring training.

"We didn't like what we saw of our pitching the first three weeks of spring training,"he said. "We needed to be proactive. If we had started the season with what we had at the beginning of spring, it didn't look too good."

Column: What will the Rays do for an encore?

Some good stuff on the Rays' current situation with quotes from Andrew Friedman and Jack Zduriencik.

Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik is a great admirer of the Rays, but he points out, accurately, that they had the benefit of 10 years of high draft picks because of their woeful first decade. That gave them a nucleus of young talent upon which to build, the likes of Evan Longoria, B.J. Upton and Carl Crawford.

"But they added some very nice pieces," Zduriencik said Monday. "They traded a No. 1 — Delmon Young — to get a No. 1, Matt Garza. [Relievers] J.P. Howell and Grant Balfour were nice pieces. No club is complete until you put on the finishing touches.

"Really, it was a total team effort — the team on the field performed, [manager] Joe Maddon ran a nice ship, and Andrew Friedman and [senior VP] Gerry Hunsicker delivered the pieces."

Blog: Lots more good stuff from Tampa Bay Rays' GM Andrew Friedman and Jack Zduriencik

Larry Stone includes a mess-load of stuff they couldn't get into Sunday's paper and there's enough content there to form another column or two.

Finally, I asked Zduriencik if offense was a concern after they scored just three runs in their three recent defeats.

"The funny thing about offense -- we had two really, really good outings against us by two talented guy. Edwin Jackson, on any given day, can be very, very good. And Rick Porcello was one of the highest-paid guys in the history of the draft -- $7.5 million. Is he going to do that every time out? No young kid will, but on any given day, when he does that, you have to respect that. That's why someone tapped him and recognized his ability and paid him what they paid him.

"I do think our club is a work in progress. It's a talented club. Guys have to continue to deliver. We have to continue to do the little things to help win games. We're not going to be a club that goes out there and rolls up big, big offensive numbers. We're a club that's athletic, plays defense, and has pretty good pitching. There will be days certain players step up and carry you. Other days, the defense will do the job, and other days pitching will do the job. At the end of the day, if guys are doing what they can do, we'll be competitive all year, and I look forward to watching them.''

Interesting stuff. Go, Larry Stone, Go!

Open WBC Korea vs. Japan Finals Thread

ThundaPC — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 22:27:10 -0000

========================= Schedule ===========================

Monday 3/23
06:00pm PDT --- The Finals [ESPN]

============================================================

Korea's Starter: Jung Keun Bong

Simply put, Korea left-hander Jung Keun Bong has been dominant against Japan in the World Baseball Classic.

Bong has already twice defeated Japan, while posting a 0.84 ERA in 10 2/3 innings along with three strikeouts and just six hits allowed.

"Korean players and Japanese players are excellent," said Shin-Soo Choo, who also plays for the Indians. "There is little difference between the two."

Japan's Starter: Hisashi Iwakuma

Japan will send right-handed pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma to the mound. Iwakuma is 1-1 with a 0.73 ERA in 12 1/3 innings in three Classic games this year. Korea will counter with Jung Keun Bong, a one-time Major League pitcher and winner of 11 games last season in Korea. Bong is 2-0 with a 0.66 ERA in 13 2/3 innings in three Classic appearances this year, with both wins coming against Japan.

"It's the game of the century," Japan manager Tatsunori Hara said. "Japan would like, as any team, to do the best we can. In terms of strategy in the game, that's something you can observe [Monday] when we play."

Open WBC Semifinals Thread

ThundaPC — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 23:41:21 -0000

Potential Cy Young candidate Carlos Silva is pitching for Venezuela today.

========================== Schedule ==========================

Saturday 3/21
06:00pm PDT --- Korea vs. Venezuela                  [ESPN]

Sunday 3/22
05:00pm PDT --- United States vs. Japan            [ESPN]

============================================================

Monday 3/23
06:00pm PDT --- The Finals                                   [ESPN]

============================================================

Silva allowed one earned run in 11 innings in the first two rounds, while Hernandez pitched 8 2/3 scoreless innings. Hernandez will be available in relief in the semifinals, if necessary, and could start the final if Venezuela advances.

In other news, Peavy is okay with Oswalt starting in the semis. That's good to know.

"I have no problems with it," Peavy said after the U.S. worked out at the Academy on the campus of Compton Community College only about 15 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. "I'm looking forward to starting the championship game. I have a little bit of history with them. They decided to start Roy. I think it's going to be a good move."

Oswalt, the Astros right-hander, will face Daisuke Matsuzaka, Japanese manager Tatsunori Hara confirmed on Friday.

These last few games should be fun. Unless it's Korea vs. Japan again because holy crap they've played each other too many times.

Open WBC Round 2 Games Thread (Part 2)

ThundaPC — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 08:03:23 -0000

Round 2 continues.

========================== Schedule ==========================

Monday 3/16
Pool 2/Game 4 - Venezuela 2, Puerto Rico 0
Pool 1/Game 3 - Cuba 7, Mexico 4

Tuesday 3/17
Pool 2/Game 5 - Puerto Rico 5, United States 6
Pool 1/Game 4 - Japan 1, Korea 4

Wednesday 3/18
Pool 2/Game 6 - United States 6, Venezuela 10
Pool 1/Game 5 - Japan 5, Cuba 0

Thursday 3/19
06:00pm PDT --- Pool 1/Game 6 - Japan vs. Korea [ESPN]

============================================================

Semifinals begin Saturday, March 21st at 6:00pm PDT.

Open WBC Round 2 Games Thread

ThundaPC — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 08:00:01 -0000

Round 2. Fight.

========================== Schedule ==========================

Saturday 3/14
Pool 2/Game 1 - Netherlands 1, Venezuela 3
Pool 2/Game 2 - United States 1, Puerto Rico 11 (7)

Sunday 3/15
Pool 1/Game 1 - Japan 6, Cuba 0
Pool 2/Game 3 - Netherlands 3, United States 9
Pool 1/Game 2 - Mexico 2, Korea 8

Monday 3/16
05:00pm PDT --- Pool 2/Game 4 - Venezuela vs. Puerto Rico       [ESPN]
08:00pm PDT --- Pool 1/Game 3 - Cuba vs. Mexico           [ESPN2]

Tuesday 3/17
04:00pm PDT --- Pool 2/Game 5 - (Game 4 Loser) vs. United States        [MLB Network]
08:00pm PDT --- Pool 1/Game 4 - Japan vs. Korea       [MLB Network]

Wednesday 3/18
04:00pm PDT --- Pool 2/Game 6 - (Game 5 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner)   [MLB Network]
08:00pm PDT --- Pool 1/Game 5 - (Game 4 Loser vs. Game 3 Winner)    [ESPN2]

Thursday 3/19
06:00pm PDT --- Pool 1/Game 6 - (Game 5 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner)     [ESPN]

============================================================

Open WBC Remaining Round 1 Games Thread

ThundaPC — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 04:44:01 -0000

Australia just ran over Mexico to the point where the mercy rule had to come into play after the bottom of the 8th inning (Score: 17-7). I think it's about time for a new thread, probably for the rest of the games in Round 1.

3/10 Update: How bout them Netherlands? Wish I could have seen that game.
3/11 Update: Well, wow.

========================== Schedule ==========================

Monday 3/9
Pool A - Korea 1, Japan 0
Pool C - Italy 6, Canada 2
Pool D - Netherlands 1, Puerto Rico 3
Pool B - Mexico 14, South Africa 3

Tuesday 3/10
Pool C - Italy 1, Venezuela 10
Pool D - Dominican Republic 1, Netherlands 2 (11)
Pool B - Cuba 5, Australia 4

Wednesday 3/11
2:00pm PDT --- Pool D - Netherlands vs. Puerto Rico                  [ESPN2]
3:30pm PDT --- Pool C - Venezuela vs. United States        [MLB Network]
7:00pm PDT --- Pool B - Mexico vs. Australia                    [MLB Network]

Thursday 3/12
6:00pm PDT --- Pool B - (Mexico/Australia Winner) vs Cuba         [MLB Network]

============================================================

Pool A - Korea (1), Japan (2)
Pool B - Cuba
Pool C - Venezuela, United States
Pool D - Netherlands, Puerto Rico

============================================================

Round 2 begins Saturday March 14th at 10:00am PDT.