AngelsFanSince86

Seems neither is very responsible.

Exactly. I can see someone using postseason stats and Cy Youngs to argue that Lincecum is better. I definitely wouldn't agree, but everyone has their opinion of what is more important. However, the gap between them in the rankings is absurd. I just find it hard to give Lincecum much credit given he has averaged a 4.76 ERA in an extreme pitchers park in the national league over the past 3 seasons (98 games). And the guy is only 30. Its not like he had a decade of good production before crapping out. He had a 4 year stretch with 3 great years and 1 good year and has since been one of the worst starters in baseball. The author must really value Cy Youngs. Edit: Also, Weaver has a career 3.28 ERA, not 3.59.

Lincecum is about 20 spots ahead of Weaver. Weak.

Right. Putting the guy who had been batting in the #4 spot since Sept. 5 and had put up a .403/.439/.610 slash line in that time is just a terrible idea...Howie was the main reason the offense was still scoring runs at the end of the season while Trout and Pujols slumped.

True. Although him denying it would be even more ridiculous then the PED users given his well documented history of drug use.

So according to this article Hamilton only admitted his relapse because he knew he would test positive. There goes the argument that he actually was trying to do the right thing by coming forward with his relapse. He only came forward because he was hoping to limit the inevitable consequences.

This is the one I was going to post. It was the first time I got to sit in my brother-in-laws season tickets near home plate. Such an epic moment. Just slowly started walking towards first as he glared at the pitcher. I've tried to find this game or clip online but have been unsuccessful.

No that isn't what I was saying. I'm saying that it is up to Josh to deal with the court of public opinion. If it is too much for him he shouldn't be playing in the MLB to begin with because he should care more about the well being of his family. I'm not saying I hate the guy, just that I don't feel sorry for him. I feel sorry for his family and for the situation and I would never have wished this on them or even Josh himself. I've just known enough addicts to where this kind of thing just makes me shake my head. I am also pretty unforgiving when children are affected. The thing is, people haven't told Hamilton he is worthless. People have supported him for years. He has had more help, financially and otherwise, than just about any addict I can think of. So its not all of the sudden our duty to be 100% supportive of him to make sure he doesn't have some self-fulfilling prophecy. I can understand feeling sorry for him. If I hadn't personally dealt with addicts my entire life I probably would feel bad for him. I just don't care anymore. I just can't feel sorry for someone who, even if just for a moment, chose drugs over his kids and his family. I do hope the best for him and I hope he gets the help he needs.

Yeah, but you can't blame others for that. Addicts look for excuses like that to fuel their addiction and it is nobodies fault but their own. You can't cater to their every whim and shield your opinions just because you are afraid of them being too fragile and relapsing. If an addict wants to relapse they will find any and all ways to rationalize it. I come from a large family rampant with addiction. Some of them truly have demons they are dealing with. Many of them are just selfish and love the high. And barring some deep dark secret, Josh falls in that last category. Addiction is sad for the loved ones that are affected by it, but feeling bad for addicts themselves only fuels their addiction and typically is more enabling then anything. It makes them feel justified in their addiction. Josh is a grown man who has had every opportunity given to him to beat his addiction. I do not feel bad for him for one second. Most people have to worry about paying the bills, paying for their next meal, not being able to find a decent job because of their drug history, etc and that adds to the stress and can trigger a relapse. Josh has not had to deal with any of these. He has had thousands of supporting fans through the years, a supportive family, a supportive team, millions of dollars, and still has his job (as of now) despite many drug-related incidents. He has access to the best treatment facilities in the country and had a personal accountability partner for years. That he still CHOOSES a momentary high over everything else he has going for him is pathetic and I don't feel bad for one second. He has 4 kids. He needs to grow up and deal with his problem, even if that means retiring. Edit: Put the wrong amount of kids before.

Man, I'm sure going to miss Howie. Love the trade, but the closer the season gets the more real it becomes that someone else will be starting at second for the first time since I graduated high school.

Yeah I like this idea. Although I still think a physical clock is necessary to make any of this stuff work. I just don't see how you can define a "reasonable amount of time" without giving precise numbers and then sticking to them. The amount of time needs to be decided and not just left up to the umps. If you give the umps free reign to decide what a reasonable amount of time is, it may not change much of anything.

One of my good friends suggested this same thing and I really like the idea. I agree they need to limit the amount of time managers take to challenge reviews, but 10 seconds is a bit short. Many of the plays are very close and need more time than that to get a good idea of the outcome.

I doubt they will ever get rid of the DH. Baseball has been going down in ratings in recent years and I don't think taking away offense is going to help that. Offense is already deficient in the post-steroid era. Last years WS had two NL style teams going against each other and was the lowest rated 7 game series in history. I would be for adding the DH to the NL, but I know most NL fans would be up in arms about it.

I don't see any comparisons going on here. The point trying to be made is that Kershaw is hands down the best pitcher in the league and will go down as one of the best ever and even he has blown it several times in the postseason. So the point is that postseason success is not a good indicator of the regular season and should not really factor into any decision. The A's got Lester last year specifically for his postseason success. How did that work out for them?

Yeah and he's even worse then that given where he has played. He has an OPS+ of 83 and his home/away splits are pretty drastic: Coors: .287/.339/.448 with a .338 BAbip Away: .230/.274/.354 with a .289 BAbip

Agreed. Volquez didn't have a bounce back season last year, he had the best and only the second good year of his career last year. He will also be 32. There is a chance he could do well, but I don't see the point in taking a risk on him for that price especially considering he is a career 4.44 ERA, 1.454 WHIP, 88 ERA+, 4.32 FIP guy in the NL. He also has a measly 1.80 SO/BB ratio, which is worse then CJ. Even last year in his best year he had a sub 2.00 SO/BB ratio and a 4.15 FIP, which leads me to believe that last year was indeed a fluke. He is hoping that a team will take a gamble based purely on last year. If he had a better track record and last year was really a bounce back year I could see this being a solid deal, but whoever signs him is taking a big risk that Volquez is suddenly a better pitcher then he has been his whole career.

I think most Angels fans are rooting for him. Nobody wants him to do poorly for the Angels, but the reality is that he will most likely continue to do so. As long as Hamilton is wearing an Angels uniform I will hope for him to do well. However, I have disliked Josh well before he came to the Angels and wouldn't like him even if he hit 160 RBI and 70 HR next year. Sure I would be stoked for the production, but the guy is a narcissistic loser who has made excuses for years and pissed off fans everywhere he has been. I wouldn't expect many people to outwardly cheer for him though. He made it very clear he doesn't care about the fans anyways.

You can't do a comparison like that. Knowing you are starting a game and being thrown into one in the second inning is a completely different mindset.

Randal Grichuk

Agreed. I don't think he should have been called safe, but I had to watch the replay over and over and over to see that. He constantly pulls these things out. Definitely one of my favorite players.

Otero, not Abad. I watched the replay MLB posted and it shows the angle from behind home plate where you can see where Moss comes from. Neither player stepped off the grass during the play. Both began on the inside of the grass. Aybar started running on the very inside of the base path and chose to change directions as Moss neared the base path. When the ball was caught, just before Aybar and Otero clashed, Moss steps into the base path to get out of the way. From the replays they showed on TV I can see what you are saying because thats what I thought too. But I saw a much better angle on my phone and watched it 40-50 times primarily because my friend who was an A's fan was talking a bunch of smack about it and I wanted to make sure I was right. I wasn't.

This chart is not very friendly to color-defecient people. I am partially red/green color blind and cannot tell the difference between the balls and strikes. The only reason I know which pitch is being talked about is because it was the last pitch.

A's post game guy is also calling it cheating and unsportsman like Edit: one of them is. The other is basically telling him he is being an idiot

Yeah exactly. The A's have those ridiculous annoying loud drums, cowbells, and horns. MUCH more distracting then the lights. Even in the A's post-game they are complaining about it.

YEAH!!! Howie came through that time!!!