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| Author |
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| 25 new of 109 responses total. |
danr
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response 32 of 109:
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Oct 29 01:13 UTC 2001 |
My guess, in response to #29, was that it was the year Monaghan bought
the team. Fetzer and Campbell were real "baseball guys." Monaghan
bought them as a feather in his cap.
There was a lot of hope when Illich bought the team. A lot was made of
how he had played in the Tigers farm system at one point.
Unfortunately, he seems more interested in the Wings than the Tigers.
jep's right, too about the Yankees. They have a killer combination of a
strong farm system and enough money to get the players they need to
fill in the gaps.
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jep
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response 33 of 109:
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Oct 29 19:22 UTC 2001 |
re #31: I don't know if Bo had either the ability or the time to turn
around the Tiger's farm system. I remember him focusing on
facilities. Certainly that must be part of the equation. I have no
idea what kind of handle he had on finding the right people to pick
coaches, trainers and scouts.
re #32: A great farm system is a result of wisely spent money. You get
great prospects, but then you have to develop them into great players.
The Yankees brought Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera through their farm
system; they're both not just the best at their positions, but among
the best in history. That's no accident. It takes good development
staff and also facilities. It takes smart staff and coaches. Also, it
takes the ability to recognize the right direction as an organization,
and the commitment to stick with it. George Steinbrenner is a pain for
the rest of baseball, but for his team, he's a great owner. Not just
rich, but smart and committed.
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polygon
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response 34 of 109:
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Oct 29 19:24 UTC 2001 |
Re 26. Yes, I went to games at Tiger Stadium. Maybe three or four, in
the three years I lived in Detroit. Only once since then. So, yeah, my
support is no great loss to the organization.
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richard
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response 35 of 109:
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Oct 30 00:58 UTC 2001 |
The current plan being worked on by the commissioner's office includes
the elimination of two teams. But what two teams is subject to debate.
The owners of Montreal and Florida have indicated willingness to trade
for or take over other franchises in markets with more favorable
economic conditions.
Could always eliminate the Tigers and let the Tigers ownership take
over the Marlins in Miami (if they're willing to pay for a new stadium
down there) You put the Tigers players in a dispersal draft, and move
the Montreal franchise to Detroit where they'd assume the Tigers name.
The current Montreal ownership would surely pay more for top players if
they had the Detroit market instead of Montreal.
This takes care of unhappy ownership situations in montreal, florida
and detroit, while ultimately only eliminating montreal.
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danr
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response 36 of 109:
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Oct 30 13:27 UTC 2001 |
That's just stupid. Illich is a Detroit guy, and if the Tigers aren't
here, there's no reason for him to be an owner.
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krj
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response 37 of 109:
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Nov 2 03:16 UTC 2001 |
World Series game 4: I felt bad for the Diamondback's relief pitcher
Kim, who struck out the side in the 8th inning, only to give up a tie
in the ninth and eventually the winning run.
Kim is a "submarine" pitcher; I don't recall seeing that style in a
prominent game since Dan Quisenberry was pitching against the Tigers
in the 1980s. Somebody (jep?) please write about the tactical reasons
and the history of underhanded pitching?
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gelinas
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response 38 of 109:
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Nov 2 05:40 UTC 2001 |
And it's the 12th inning of game 5. 2-all, 1 out, with New York at bat.
Last I looked, it was 2-0 in the seventh.
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gelinas
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response 39 of 109:
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Nov 2 05:42 UTC 2001 |
And now it's over: 2-3 Yankees.
I don't care who wins the Series, but it's fun to watch come-from-behind wins.
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jep
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response 40 of 109:
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Nov 2 17:53 UTC 2001 |
Byung- Kim did the same thing again last night; he was down to 2 outs
in the 9th, with a 2 run lead, and gave up a two run homer. The
Yankees took 12 innings to win last night, but win they did. While I'm
rooting for Arizona, I certainly can't complain about the interest
level of the games. This has been an amazing World Series.
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jep
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response 41 of 109:
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Nov 2 18:25 UTC 2001 |
re #37: Please note, I never played much baseball at any level. I
watch a lot, but I've never thrown or hit a curveball.
By using an unusual style, the pitchers are making the ball look a
little unusual to the batter. It's another thing the batters have to
be aware of, during the 7/10 of a second or thereabouts they have to
decide whether to swing at the ball. A sidearm pitch comes from
further to the side than a normal pitch, and a submarine ball starts
low and has to come up a little.
Also, the release point affects the way a pitch works. A sidearm or
submarine curveball spins sideways, which makes it break horizontally,
like a frisbee. A regular curveball breaks down and to the side. A
submarine fastball tails more than a regular fastball; it breaks a
little in toward the batter or out away from him. A regular fastball
has backspin, which causes it to rise. (A great major league fastball
can appear to hop as it approaches the plate.)
Basically, the lower the release point, the more sideways the break on
the curveball. The higher the release point, the more downward motion
you get.
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danr
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response 42 of 109:
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Nov 3 01:01 UTC 2001 |
That really was an incredible finish last night. Almost unbelievable.
The key really wasn't the home run, though. It was Arizona's inability
to score in the eighth (or was it the seventh?) when they got Womack to
third with no outs. If they'd gotten him home, the home run wouldn't
have mattered.
It will be very difficult, I think, for Arizona to win now.
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senna
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response 43 of 109:
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Nov 3 08:21 UTC 2001 |
You never know. The Johnson can easily win game six on his own, and I
wouldn't be surprised if Brenly is calmly telling Kim "WHEN the ninth inning
comes around in game seven, I am going to give you the ball and you ARE going
to win the World Series for us." He's got two days to build up his
confidence, and would't it be a great story if Kim went back out there and
stoned the heart of the Yankees order for the championship?
The Yankees will probably tee off on Johnson and moot the point Saturday,
though.
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aruba
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response 44 of 109:
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Nov 3 14:35 UTC 2001 |
Kim beating the Yankees in game 7 sure would be a sight to see. But if the
Yankees beat him instead, I don't know if I could take it - I nearly threw
something at the television the last two times.
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senna
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response 45 of 109:
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Nov 3 16:40 UTC 2001 |
Well, just with those two losses, there's a chance that he'll never recover.
Some pitchers just don't make it back from bad blown saves, and he's young
enough that this could really affect his future. I don't think i tmatters
if he loses another game or not as far as that goes.
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jep
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response 46 of 109:
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Nov 4 00:33 UTC 2001 |
There have been 5 games played so far, and so far, each one has been won
by the home team. I don't think Arizona is in despair just yet.
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krj
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response 47 of 109:
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Nov 4 03:22 UTC 2001 |
Game 6: So when did Fox decide to start televising batting practice?
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senna
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response 48 of 109:
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Nov 4 05:58 UTC 2001 |
Arizona absolutely killed the Yankees today. I didn't see any of the game,
tied up with "other obligations," but it was impressive to see. Tomorrow,
the Yankees could become the second team to be totally outnumbered in major
statistical categories in a World Series and win, along with the 1960
Pittsburgh Pirates, who beat... the Yankees. Actually, their stats
(specifically, they trail in runs scored by a decided amount) probably aren't
as lopsided. As of 1990, the Pirates had the highest ERA in World Series
history, and won.
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gelinas
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response 49 of 109:
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Nov 5 04:30 UTC 2001 |
Did I just hear that we have a World Series Champion? And it's not the
Yankees?
Somewhere up there, somone said something about the home team always winning.
Is that what happened this series? Did neither team win on the road?
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aruba
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response 50 of 109:
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Nov 5 05:26 UTC 2001 |
That is indeed what happened. The Diamondbacks won game 7 as Mariano Rivera
finally came unravelled in the ninth inning. Former Tiger Luis Gonzales
batted in the winning run.
The Yankees looked really bummed on the bench - seems they can dish it out
but they can't take it. I say, Sayonara!
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jep
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response 51 of 109:
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Nov 5 15:46 UTC 2001 |
This was the best World Series I've ever seen.
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danr
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response 52 of 109:
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Nov 6 00:00 UTC 2001 |
It really was something. It was only the second time in 25 chances that
Rivera has blown a save. I didn't think Arizona had a chance after the
fifth game.
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krj
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response 53 of 109:
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Nov 6 23:16 UTC 2001 |
The breaking news is that the baseball owners have voted to fold two
teams before the start of the 2002 season. The teams are to be named
later. Speculation centers on Montreal, the Florida Marlins and
the Minnesota Twins -- the Twins owner is practically begging to be
paid off and put out of business.
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jep
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response 54 of 109:
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Nov 7 00:29 UTC 2001 |
Wow. "Before the start of the 2002 season." I didn't think it could
happen that quickly.
Here's an interesting quote from Selig: "There were a lot of people in
the game who were in favor of four-team contraction."
The previous latest news on this topic, by the way, is that Selig had
the votes to disband both the Expos and the Minnesota Twins. Either
Arizona or Tampa Bay can, by contract, be moved from one league to the
other without their consent, and the speculation is Arizona will move
to the AL West, and Texas will move to the AL Central.
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senna
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response 55 of 109:
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Nov 7 01:41 UTC 2001 |
No solid word on the teams involved, though Montreal is obviously one of them.
Removing the Twins from Minnesota will be a travesty--with all the discussion
of owner switching, why not just remove Pohldad and move an owner to
Minnesota?
Despicable, awful, and evil are words I would use to describe Major League
Baseball if the Twins are not playing baseball next year. Careless,
obnoxious, and close-minded are ones I enjoy now as it is, but if there are
no Minnesota Twins next season (either by contraction or strike or, worse,
both), I'm going to have a hard time watching a sport which cares about its
fans in a fashion resembling OJ Simpson's "love" for Nicole Brown. No sport
disrespects, ignores, and abuses its fans like Major League Baseball. No
sport is further out of touch from what makes it great than Major League
Baseball.
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aruba
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response 56 of 109:
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Nov 7 16:55 UTC 2001 |
I really don't get why contraction makes sense, when there are cities like
Washington that have been desperate for a team for years and years.
(Heck, the Twins used to be the Washington Senators. Why not just move them
back?)
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