labro day mlb: big one for me..........

[gman2]

mlb plays have been few and far between. but have to take a strong stance on this one.

cleveland (-110)

maroth just handcuffed the indians on wedesday, but now the indians get to see him just 5 days later in this home+home series. very tough for a finesse pitcher to shut down the same lineup twice in less than one calendar week.

meanwhile, elarton pitched in the series opener against the tigers last monday and had an uncharacteristically horrible start, allowing 5 first inning runs and only pitching 3 innings. but that one bad start vs. detroit could be considered an anomaly with the way hes pitched against detroit this year:

last monday vs det: 3 innings 7 runs
8/7 vs. det: 5.2 innings 1 run
7/4 vs. det: 9.0 innings 3 runs (allowed 2 runs in the 9th when trying for complete game)
4/8 vs. det: 5.1 innings 2 runs

also this is something that gets overlooked, but the indians have been a goldmine in game 1 of a series since they began this push for the wild card.

indians have won 10 of their last 11 series openers
and in those games, they're averaging 8.09 runs of offense.

im still skeptical about these guys winning the wild card. think its new york's to lose and the indians might tail off later this month. but they have really played well in these 'game ones' for awhile now. wedge has been preaching that they have to take 2 out of 3 in every series to win the WC and it seems like the indians get the message in these openers. fwiw, tribe swept a series in comerica a month ago as well.

 

[gman2]

seattle mariners (+110)

cant say im 'surprised' by the line, because blanton has been solid lately and the a's are trying to make a playoff push. but hernandez is not an underdog by any stretch. what this kid done has been nothing short of amazing to start his career. after starting off with games against detroit, kc, and minnesota, i was wondering how he would fare against chicago and the yankees -- two stiff tests. well he might have gone 0-2 on paper, but 5 runs in 15 innings against those two teams isnt bad at all. whats more? all of those 5 runs came on home runs. 3 solo shots and a 2-run homer. its become almost impossible to string together more than a hit an inning on this kid. he's got 45 k's in 44 innings, while allowing just 27 hits.

 

[Hoops]

Hard not to make Hernandez a dog in this spot. Actually, I'm a bit surprised Seattle wasn't a bigger underdog considering Blanton has outpitched Hernandez (and almost every other pitcher) over the past month.

Talk about under the radar....7 earned in his last 53 innings. I don't think he got the respect he deserves with that line.

 

[gman2]

can the kid get some offense from the mariners bats please? jesus. as far as blanton vs. hernandez, by no means am i saying blanton is doing it with mirrors, but i just dont see anything particularly outstanding about blanton. pitching, of course, isnt about being pretty, but to me blanton is a distant 3rd on their staff despite having good numbers lately. bottom line is both offenses suck so one of these pitchers is gonna take a tough luck loss unless it goes to the bullpens scoreless

 

[mjalam]

can the kid get some offense from the mariners bats please? jesus. as far as blanton vs. hernandez, by no means am i saying blanton is doing it with mirrors, but i just dont see anything particularly outstanding about blanton. pitching, of course, isnt about being pretty, but to me blanton is a distant 3rd on their staff despite having good numbers lately. bottom line is both offenses suck so one of these pitchers is gonna take a tough luck loss unless it goes to the bullpens scoreless

what are you talking about, blanton's stuff is awesome..why do you think the a's liked him so much
even though i do think the mariners take this game

well they got a run for you

 

[gman2]

mjalam:
you get very offended every time someone mentions anything about the a's. its an opinion. relax. if im an opposing hitter, im fearing harden and zito far more than blanton. harden might be the best pitcher in the american league and zito is zito. im sorry youre offended about my opinion of the a's #3 - #4 starter. too many people get worked up over their teams in here. i never said blanton was bad. i just said he is a distant 3 behind harden and zito and not overpowering.

 

[mjalam]

it wouldn't matter what team..dumb comments are exactly that...dumb

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7461

look at those stats and tell me how bad they are

he has come a long way since the beginning of the season..if the A's had a consistent offense..which they don't..he would have a lot more wins and the A's would make the play offs...but i don't think they have what it takes for the stretch run.

 

[gman2]

mjalam:

im going to have to ask you to show me where i said anything bad about blanton. to your point about how far hes come, that (again) is exactly what i said in post number 2 -- that he has good numbers lately. youre tryin to make somethin out of nothing. he is what he is --- a good #3-#4 starter on a good team. hernandez is what hernandez is, a potential ace on a mediocre team.

its like cliff lee on the indians. hes got good numbers (the best on the team in fact) but he is a distant 3rd behind millwood and (when he's on) sabathia in terms of 'stuff'.

 

[mjalam]

but i just dont see anything particularly outstanding about blanton

he will be a future ace, however, that was your opinion..but i watch every start he makes, and i see what he can do

 

[gman2]

but i watch every start he makes, and i see what he can do

call me crazy, but i envision a world in which there will ONE DAY be satellite television... a world in which there will be packages put together exclusively for major league baseball, where people can follow all the teams every day of the season ... a package that will unifiy sports fans from the east coast and west coast.. until that day, i will have to settle for seeing oakland's 10:05 game on a monday show up in my newspaper box score 2 days later on wednesday... wait, scratch that.. mlb extra innings has arrived!

p.s. im one of the few east coast guys who actually stays up late enough to watch west coast football and baseball. in fact, i probably watch more west coast baseball than i do east coast. so we both have our opinions. and we both generally agree he is a good pitcher.

 

[mjalam]

sorry, i didn't know that there were so many east coast people that wanted to watch the nationally advertised Oakland Athletics...wait...they don't!

smart ass

i have extra innings, do you think I watch the Cleveland Indians...right

 

[gman2]

youre right, the majority of people probably arent watching oakland ... im not doubting there is some west coast bias from the uninformed ... but one thing i do know is that as a bettor, im not willing to throw darts ... therefore, i do my best to see every pitcher and every team ... and with oakland competing with cleveland, you can bet ive watched blanton closely

 

[THE HITMAN]

Couple of nice calls today.........sweet. I had Cleve, but faltered with Oakland. GL

 

[maverick2112]

I saw where in 13 of Blantons starts Oakland has scored 1 run or less...........thats a crazy as what the Astros are doing to Clemens this year..........Hell

Both Blanton and Clemens would probably their AAA club plays when they pitch.......