SB Nation User Blog: snakecharmer

Playoffs 2008: NLCS - Dodgers/Phillies

snakecharmer — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:12:46 -0000

With half of the teams now out of the post-season and only the Championship Series to play until the World Series, my thoughts are to keep one thread open per series. Depending on the activity level, we will adjust how future gameday threads are opened and handled. We hope that, with increased interest in the Championship Series' results, that these threads will continue to draw knowledgeable and well-meaning baseball fans from all over. Note, however, that these open threads are not to be misconstrued as a place where visiting fans can gloat about their teams' successes; please take excessive celebratory remarks home. (Though as Jim mentioned, this should no longer be a problem with AZWILDCATS.)

Game 3: 10/12, 5:22pm AZT, FOX
Phillies Lead 2-0

Jamie Moyer
LHP, 16-7, 3.71

0-1, 4.50 ERA

Hiroki Kuroda
RHP, 9-10, 3.73

1-0, 0.00 ERA

The Dodgers head west for a change of a scenery and a change of fortune. Two quick home runs pulled the Phillies up 3-2 on Thursday, and a bad outing by Billingsley (8 runs in 2.1 innings) sealed the Dodgers' fate on Friday. Despite the Phillies' 2-0 series lead, the first two games of this series have been technically close from a pitching standpoint. Neither bullpen has given up a run so far in this series, which says a lot for both the strong status of the bullpens and the weakness of the offenses. Which of those is more likely to hold up as this series continues??

With the off day, the Dodgers have had a chance to regroup, and the Phillies have had a chance to grieve the loss of Charlie Manuel's mother and Shane Victorino's grandmother. Shane has had a fabulous post-season so far, hitting .307 with 9 RBIs. Jamie Moyer has not faced the Dodgers this season, but several Dodgers - Ramirez, Loney, Kent, Garciaparra - have good career numbers off him. Kuroda, on the other hand, pitched well against the Phillies this season (as he did in his last start against Milwaukee) and nobody for Philadelphia exceept for Chase Utley seems to have had any luck against him.

~~I gather for a while that the focus is going to be on OT of the Cowboys/Cardinals game,~~ Never mind, that ended quickly! Stay tuned for the Phillies and Dodgers, coming up.

Playoffs 2008: ALCS - Red Sox/Rays

snakecharmer — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:51:27 -0000

With half of the teams now out of the post-season and only the Championship Series to play until the World Series, my thoughts are to keep one thread open per series. Depending on the activity level, we will adjust how future gameday threads are opened and handled. We hope that, with increased interest in the Championship Series' results, that these threads will continue to draw knowledgeable and well-meaning baseball fans from all over. Note, however, that these open threads are not to be misconstrued as a place where visiting fans can gloat about their teams' successes; please take excessive celebratory remarks home. [Jim: Though since I finally banned AZWILDCATS yesterday, i don't expect this to be an issue]

Game 2: 10/11, 5:07pm AZT, TBS
Boston 1-0 up

Josh Beckett
RHP, 12-10, 4.03

0-0, 7.20

Scott Kazmir
LHP, 12-8, 3.49

1-0, 3.38

The Rays can't afford to go up the coast two games down, so this one counts as a must-win for them. The Sox would certainly like to take it, but have already guaranteed themselves a split on the road, and would likely have settled for that before the series began. The Rays send their ace Kazmir to the mound, though I was surprised to see both he and Beckett only had a dozen wins each in the regular season. I'd have had them down for more than that. Wouldn't be surprised if this turnd out to be another low-scoring game, but I think Tampa will do enough to pull out the victory, and go back to Boston for what effectively becomes a five-game series with the Red Sox having home advantage.

Playoff Gameday Thread #6: 10/6/08

snakecharmer — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:26:34 -0000

The National League Championship Series was set yesterday. Jeff Suppan's post-season experience was of no help, as the Phillies homered the Brewers right out of the series on their way to a 6-2 win. They get ready to host the Dodgers starting on Thursday. Today brings the possibilities of deciding the ALCS teams - or of going to Game 5s in both.

2:05pm AZT, TBS

Series: 2-1, Rays

Andy Sonnanstine
RHP, 13-9, 4.38

Gavin Floyd
RHP, 17-8, 3.84

Andy Sonnanstine - who? Not a big name pitcher, but one the Rays need to rely on today. He didn't end the season on a positive note (losing his last 3) but he has handled the White Sox nicely this season, going 1-0 with a sub-3 ERA in 4 starts. But the White Sox finally hit with runners in scoring position yesterday to stave off elimination for at least one more day. They have been energized by their home crowd and send out the young Gavin Floyd to make his post-season debut (as will Sonnanstine) and keep the Rays from getting their big hits in scoring position. (Yahoo lists 17 LOB yesterday.) The Rays need to not let their loss disparage them, and the Sox need to keep their offense going. Should be an interesting matchup.

5:35pm AZT, TBS

Series: 2-1, Sox

John Lackey
RHP, 12-5, 3.75

Series: 0-1, 2.70

Jon Lester
LHP, 16-6, 3.21

Series: 1-0, 0.00

This is a rematch of Game 1 of this series. Can I just copy what I wrote then? ;) Probably not, as I don't think it played out as expected. This was a great low-scoring pitchers' duel. Jon Lester allowed 6 hits but only 1 unearned run, and John Lackey gave up 4 hits but 3 walks and 2 earned runs. Last night's 12-inning affair (won by the Angels) combined with the starters' short starts may have taxed the bullpen. This is particularly important for K-Rod, who threw over 33 pitches in one inning, and Papelbon, who threw 31 pitches in two innings. If Boston can keep Mike Napoli from hitting moon shots tonight, Boston has a good shot of winning this one.

Playoff Gameday Thread #5: 10/5/08

snakecharmer — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 05:41:43 -0000

One division series down, three more to go. (And two fewer games to watch on TBS!) The Dodgers took care of the Cubs last night, finishing them off in a 3-1 victory in which the Cubs hardly seemed to threaten. They scattered 8 hits and went 1-for-11 with RISP (the one scoring Derrick Lee in the 8th). For the second year in a row, the Cubs have been swept out of the post-season by the NL West champ. Alfonso Soriano summed it up brilliantly by saying: “We did not play good, like a team. That’s the reason we didn’t win.” The Dodgers now await the winner of the Phillies/Brewers.

10:07am AZT, TBS

Joe Blanton
RHP, 9-12, 4.69

Jeff Suppan
RHP, 10-10, 4.96

The Brewers managed to stave off elimination by beating the Phillies 4-2. They scored two runs in the first and never looked back, getting strong pitching performances and decent hitting. Today they pin their post-season hopes on Jeff Suppan. Suppan has a strong post-season record but had a poor regular season; Joe Blanton, too, has been merely mediocre this year. I would be surprised if this is a low scoring affair, but both pitchers do have the potential to bear down and pitch well. Milwaukee should be able to build on the momentum they built yesterday, but Philly's offense might be too much for the Brewers.

1:07pm AZT, TBS

Matt Garza
RHP, 11-9, 3.70

John Danks
LHP, 12-9, 3.32

Tampa Bay heads into Chicago up 2 games to none. Though both pitchers' numbers look similar, Garza had a rough September, not lasting 5 innings in any of his last 3 starts. Danks, meanwhile, held the Twins hitless through 5 innings his last time out. The White Sox have a good shot at taking this one, but only if their bats are awakened by their hometown crowd.

4:07pm AZT, TBS

Joe Saunders
RHP, 17-7, 3.41

Josh Beckett
RHP, 12-10, 4.03

I don't think anybody predicted the injury-plagued Red Sox to be up 2 games against the AL-best Angels. Once again Anaheim's pitcher has the edge in numbers, but everyone knows Beckett is a big game pitcher, pitching the Marlins and Red Sox to World Series titles before. The Angels too need to find their bats (did someone double check the suitcases?) and hope they brought along a lot of Rally Monkeys to help keep their post-season hopes alive.

Sorry these previews aren't very good today! I am a little tired from pain pills. Many thanks to Jim for starting this up the past two days and letting me continue it. :)

Playoff Gameday Thread #2: 10/2/08

snakecharmer — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 06:50:21 -0000

We had a pretty good turnout for yesterday's action, so we've decided to keep it going for a while longer. Interest will likely wane eventually, but after spending 6 months with you crazy people, I can't imagine going elsewhere to follow a team, even if it's not ours. But if you're interested, SBNation has a nice post-season section set up with links to all the other blogs.

Yesterday in a nutshell: the Phillies took advantage of Brewer miscues to win 3-1, the Dodgers slammed (literally) the Cubs 7-3, and the Red Sox came away with a 4-1 win over the Angels, running their streak to 10 straight wins over Anaheim in the post-season. (Interestingly, the last pair of teams to exhibit that kind of dominance/ineptitude was Oakland going 10-0 over Boston from '88-'03.)

2:37pm ET, TBS

Javier Vazquez
RHP, 12-16, 4.67

James Shields
RHP, 12-8, 3.56

Today brings our first look at the White Sox and Rays, and it will be a test for both teams. The Sox had to essentially play two extra games just to get to the post-season, and the nerves of the young Rays will be put center stage in their first ever playoff game. We know from experience that Javy Vazquez is like a coin - it can land on its head or its tail, but it is durable enough to always land somewhere. He has the experience that can overcome his sometimes gaudy-looking numbers, but he can just as easily implode on himself. A brief glance at Shields' numbers shows he can give up a lot of hits and walks but not necessarily a lot of runs. This looks like a toss up... either one of these teams can come away with this one.

6:07pm ET, TBS

CC Sabathia
LHP, 17-10, 2.70

Brett Myers
RHP, 10-13, 4.55

Despite the score, Milwaukee played pretty well yesterday. Both offenses were weak, and Philadelphia's 3 runs came all in one inning and were all unearned for starter Yovani Gallardo. Milwaukee has to score for its ace CC Sabathia, who is running out there on 3 days' rest for the 4th straight time. Cole Hamels was masterful over the Brewers, but don't expect Brett Myers to be able to do the same thing. It should be Sabathia's turn to confound the offense, but you have to think that all these starts on short rest might backfire eventually. Edge to Milwaukee for having Sabathia on the mound.

9:37pm ET, TBS

Chad Billingsly
RHP, 16-10, 3.14

Carlos Zambrano
RHP, 14-6, 3.91

Cubs fans and Cubs alike were stunned by yesterday's 7-3 defeat. Lou Pinella left starter Ryan Dempster in there a bit too long, just long enough for James Loney hit a monster grand slam to pull the Dodgers from behind 0-2 to ahead 4-2. The Cubs never really threatened after that, and the Dodgers tacked on throughout the rest of the night. Glad to see Pinella isn't "saving" Zambrano for Game 9 or anything. Both of these starters are workhorses with similar numbers, but I give the edge to Z and the Cubs tonight. Do not expect them to go out as quietly this year as they did last.

Playoffs Gameday Thread #1: 10/1/08

snakecharmer — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:40:43 -0000

Well, despite our beloved Diamondbacks not being in the playoffs, I know a lot of us have other allegiances (temporarily, perhaps) and figured we could use a place to discuss these games. Depending on activity, this thread may just be updated each day with the matchups.

The best laid plans... well, I missed the TBS pregame show so my analysis for these games isn't going to be very deep. Please add your own thoughts in the thread!

3:07pm ET, TBS

Yovani Gallardo
RHP, 0-0, 1.88

Cole Hamels
RHP, 14-10, 3.09

Milwaukee has an uphill battle against the Phillies, as they are only 1-5 in their meetings this year! In the last series in September, the Phillies scored 20 runs against the Brewers' 7. Yovani Gallardo is making only his fifth start of the year, returning from two knee surgeries, and is one of only a few pitchers to start a post-season game with no record from the regular season. (And no pitcher with that few starts has ever started a Game 1.) Hopefully this game will play out without a rain delay.

6:37pm ET, TBS

Derek Lowe
RHP, 14-11, 3.24

Ryan Dempster
RHP, 17-6, 2.96

Oh joy, the series that most (but not all) of us are dreading... because unfortunately, one of these two teams has to win. The Cubs have 13 more wins than the Dodgers, but the Dodgers have played pretty good baseball the last 5 weeks. The Cubs are 5-2 against the Dodgers this season, but all of those games were before the All-Star Break (and before Mannywood). Derek Lowe has been more lights-out recently, but Dempster is one of the aces of the Cubs staff just like Lowe. This shapes up to be a good game.

10:07pm ET, TBS

Jon Lester
LHP, 16-6, 3.24

John Lackey
RHP, 12-5, 3.75

The Angels have a lot to prove in this series against the Red Sox - they are 0-9 against them in playoff games... 3 straight sweeps! Boston has quite a few injuries and question marks, whereas the Angels are healthy - the complete opposite of last year. The regular season record also favors the Angels, with "Anaheim" going 8-1 against them and winning 8 straight. Lackey is very beatable, and he had a horrible last start (2.2 IP, 10 ER), but Boston won't want to face K-Rod at the end of the game.

2009 Schedule Announced - Home, Sweet April

snakecharmer — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 21:09:37 -0000

2009 Schedule Announced - Home, Sweet April

Oh wow, this schedule is weird.. out of 22 games played in the month of April, 18 will be home games! They end the season on the road at San Francisco and Chicago. Full schedule here.

He Who Must Not Be Named... Injured

snakecharmer — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:36:57 -0000

He Who Must Not Be Named... Injured

I love how this is breaking news on the Yahoo MLB page. Anyway. Carlos Quentin, deserving MVP candidate, will undergo wrist surgery on Monday and may be out for the rest of the regular season. That's too bad for him...

September Call-Ups

snakecharmer — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 18:45:40 -0000

It's September 1st and that means... reinforcements! I can't find much official on who they are yet, and it looks like that's because they're waiting until the AAA season officially ends on Tuesday to call up the majority of players. The following is from this MLB.com article.

On Monday, the club will have Robby Hammock available as a third catcher for the remainder of the season. Hammock has appeared in 16 games in 2008, hitting .171 (7-for-41) with four runs scored, a double and two RBIs.

On Tuesday, after the Triple-A season ends, the club will call up some more familiar faces in pitcher Billy Buckner, Leo Rosales, left-handed specialist Doug Slaten, infielder Jamie D'Antona and outfielder Alex Romero.

Triple-A first baseman Josh Whitesell also will join the list but would be ineligible for inclusion on a postseason roster because he hasn't appeared in any games prior to the September callup.

Gameday Thread, #133: 8/27 vs. Padres

snakecharmer — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:04:12 -0000

Randy Johnson
LHP, 10-9, 4.03

Cha Seung Baek
RHP, 4-9, 5.08

Baseball-Reference.com preview [opens in new window]

Randy Johnson is on the mound this afternoon, not only to go for win #295 but to stop the bleeding of our starting pitchers. After a tough loss by Haren (and Rauch) and a disappointing start from Webb, Randy absolutely needs to be Good Randy to avoid the sweep. Because, seriously, a sweep by the Padres would not help our street cred, 'yo.

Luckily, we face a pitcher who has lost his last 3 starts by giving up 5, 2, and 5 runs. ... And that's all I know about him, unfortunately. Research on your own, everybody, sorry!

Early start today... let's hope the game and the Gameday Thread can lure some people away from work! On a more serious note, there was an incident last night of impersonation of another member. This behavior is not acceptable, and action will be taken if it happens again. Thanks for your cooperation.

About 20 minutes till we can say.... PLAY BALL!

SB Nation User Blog: snakecharmer

Playoffs 2008: NLCS - Dodgers/Phillies

Game 3: 10/12, 5:22pm AZT, FOX Phillies Lead 2-0

Jamie MoyerLHP, 16-7, 3.71

Hiroki KurodaRHP, 9-10, 3.73

Playoffs 2008: ALCS - Red Sox/Rays

Game 2: 10/11, 5:07pm AZT, TBSBoston 1-0 up

Josh BeckettRHP, 12-10, 4.03

Scott KazmirLHP, 12-8, 3.49

Playoff Gameday Thread #6: 10/6/08

2:05pm AZT, TBS

Andy SonnanstineRHP, 13-9, 4.38

Gavin FloydRHP, 17-8, 3.84

5:35pm AZT, TBS

John LackeyRHP, 12-5, 3.75

Series: 0-1, 2.70

Jon LesterLHP, 16-6, 3.21

Series: 1-0, 0.00

Playoff Gameday Thread #5: 10/5/08

10:07am AZT, TBS

Joe BlantonRHP, 9-12, 4.69

Jeff SuppanRHP, 10-10, 4.96

1:07pm AZT, TBS

Matt GarzaRHP, 11-9, 3.70

John DanksLHP, 12-9, 3.32

4:07pm AZT, TBS

Joe SaundersRHP, 17-7, 3.41

Josh BeckettRHP, 12-10, 4.03

Playoff Gameday Thread #2: 10/2/08

2:37pm ET, TBS

Javier VazquezRHP, 12-16, 4.67

James ShieldsRHP, 12-8, 3.56

6:07pm ET, TBS

CC SabathiaLHP, 17-10, 2.70

Brett MyersRHP, 10-13, 4.55

9:37pm ET, TBS

Chad BillingslyRHP, 16-10, 3.14

Carlos ZambranoRHP, 14-6, 3.91

Playoffs Gameday Thread #1: 10/1/08

Yovani GallardoRHP, 0-0, 1.88

Cole HamelsRHP, 14-10, 3.09

Derek LoweRHP, 14-11, 3.24

Ryan DempsterRHP, 17-6, 2.96

Jon LesterLHP, 16-6, 3.24

John LackeyRHP, 12-5, 3.75

2009 Schedule Announced - Home, Sweet April

2009 Schedule Announced - Home, Sweet April

He Who Must Not Be Named... Injured

He Who Must Not Be Named... Injured

September Call-Ups

Gameday Thread, #133: 8/27 vs. Padres

Randy JohnsonLHP, 10-9, 4.03

Cha Seung BaekRHP, 4-9, 5.08

Game 3: 10/12, 5:22pm AZT, FOX
Phillies Lead 2-0

Jamie Moyer
LHP, 16-7, 3.71

Hiroki Kuroda
RHP, 9-10, 3.73

Game 2: 10/11, 5:07pm AZT, TBS
Boston 1-0 up

Josh Beckett
RHP, 12-10, 4.03

Scott Kazmir
LHP, 12-8, 3.49

Andy Sonnanstine
RHP, 13-9, 4.38

Gavin Floyd
RHP, 17-8, 3.84

John Lackey
RHP, 12-5, 3.75

Jon Lester
LHP, 16-6, 3.21

Joe Blanton
RHP, 9-12, 4.69

Jeff Suppan
RHP, 10-10, 4.96

Matt Garza
RHP, 11-9, 3.70

John Danks
LHP, 12-9, 3.32

Joe Saunders
RHP, 17-7, 3.41

Josh Beckett
RHP, 12-10, 4.03

Javier Vazquez
RHP, 12-16, 4.67

James Shields
RHP, 12-8, 3.56

CC Sabathia
LHP, 17-10, 2.70

Brett Myers
RHP, 10-13, 4.55

Chad Billingsly
RHP, 16-10, 3.14

Carlos Zambrano
RHP, 14-6, 3.91

Yovani Gallardo
RHP, 0-0, 1.88

Cole Hamels
RHP, 14-10, 3.09

Derek Lowe
RHP, 14-11, 3.24

Ryan Dempster
RHP, 17-6, 2.96

Jon Lester
LHP, 16-6, 3.24

John Lackey
RHP, 12-5, 3.75

Randy Johnson
LHP, 10-9, 4.03

Cha Seung Baek
RHP, 4-9, 5.08