2011 MLB Thread- Part One

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I think Felix Hernandez will do just fine when the M's trade him to the Yankees next year, but there are some players who just can't handle it.

Don't get me excited and then break my heart, Hewson.
 
Chien Ming Wang is pitching tonight. I wouldn't run the bases if I were him.
 
Edgar Renteria could not handle playing every day in Boston, admitted as much...and this from a guy who delivered the winning hit for your Marlins in the World Series.

How about Kevin Brown? He melted down in pinstripes. (Could have been roid rage rather than the pressure of playing in NYC, but either way he couldn't handle being a Yankee).

There are some players who just aren't mentally equipped to play under the scrutiny that exists in certain markets...I don't think players in Miami and Seattle face anywhere near the daily scrutiny from media and fans that the players in NY, Boston, Philly and a few other markets face. (How often do the Marlins play in front of a full house? Its every night in these markets, and the northeast fans are not known for clapping politely and saying "you'll do better next time" when a player is not playing well)

Does that mean every Mariner would have a hard time adjusting to being a Yankee? Certainly not, I think Felix Hernandez will do just fine when the M's trade him to the Yankees next year, but there are some players who just can't handle it.

Edgar Renteria was also a Cardinal and won a World Series with San Fransisco. To big market teams. Fine though, 'admitted as much'. You can have Edgar Renteria. Actually, wait, no you can't. You're completely contradicting yourself. Edgar Renteria can't play under pressure, but he can come up with arguably one of the biggest World Series hits in the past 25 years. If that's not relevant, then what is? Doing so as a Yankee? Bullshit. He won a World Series.

Kevin Brown. Now... do we just start assuming that because the player didn't perform as a Yankee it's because of pressure from a big market? That's horseshit. In fact, this conversation is getting even more stupid considering Kevin Brown was a Yankee for the final two seasons of his career. He couldn't handle being a Yankee because his tools weren't the same as they were when he was a Marlin almost 5-10 years before that during his prime. Oh, news flash, Kevin Brown was a Dodger for five years previous to being a Yankee.

I think it's ridiculous that it's just assumed pressure for the sake of this argument. Absolute horse shit. Next you'll tell me Javier Vazquez collapsed under the pressure as a Yankee? I mean, he did go from Cy Young voting to an abysmal ERA... oh wait! He still sucks in Florida! There's actually a real answer to that though! His fastball isn't actually fast anymore, and he has the tendency to give up more HRs and walk more batters.

But from what I'm getting from this (and what you should be, too, since you're supporting the claim so much) is that a player is completely unimportant unless he's performed on the Red Sox, Yankess, Phillies, Dodgers, or Giants. Although, I'm not so sure the Giants or Dodgers count considering they've been removed from this conversation twice.
 
I never said Renteria coudn't perform in the clutch...I said he couldn't handle the daily scrutiny that accompanies playing in Boston. Players aren't under that kind of microscope in most other markets...including good baseball cities like St. Louis...fans and media there are very positive about their players...not always the case here and a few hundred miles due south.

As for Brown...I said he melted down as a Yankee....I don't mean his performance strictly....the man mentally lost it in the pressure cooker that is the Bronx (wasn't nicknamed "The Bronx Zoo" in the 70's for nothing)...he couldn't handle the daily scrutiny, every nuance of evry start dissected by media and fans alike, remember he was so frustrated with the situation that he punched a wall breaking his hand amongst other feats while a Yankee.

Do you remember the clip of Randy Johnson walking down the NYC street just after signing with the Yanks?..."Get that F'in camera out of my face!!!"....playing in NY, Philly and Boston is a very different experience than playing almost anywhere else...even LA...c'mon the Dodger fans and media are the late arriving white wine and social scene crowd for the most part Hooligans who attempt to murder Giants fans notwithstanding)...the daily pressure in LA is nothing like it is in NY.

Again, I'm not suggesting as you like to put words in my mouth that a player is unimportant unless he's performed for the Yanks, Sox, Phils etc. What I'm saying is there are some players who can't handle playing in those markets and I cited a few examples...Renteria is a prime example, because he's flourished elsewhere...but couldn't take the scrutiny which began in early April in Boston, had his worst year and begged to get out of town.

At any rate we'll just agree to disagree... Headache and I believe that some players don't perform well in some situations yet perform fine in other less pressure packed situations, you and Tourist think situation and setting have nothing to do with a player's performance.
So be it.
 
At any rate we'll just agree to disagree... Headache and I believe that some players don't perform well in some situations yet perform fine in other less pressure packed situations, you and Tourist think situation and setting have nothing to do with a player's performance.
So be it.

Except that's not what headache was making a case out of.

Headache was making the case that a player can play well on a bad team in a small market and he doesn't give a shit because he'd rather have a pitcher putting up less than Cy Young numbers for a player who's got the un-measurable 'it'.

So... basically... you've got this magical talent curve if you pitch well in New York or Boston (hell, why even include Philadelphia if we're not gonna include LA?).
 
At any rate we'll just agree to disagree... Headache and I believe that some players don't perform well in some situations yet perform fine in other less pressure packed situations, you and Tourist think situation and setting have nothing to do with a player's performance.
So be it.

To be fair, I will never care about that "it". Put the entire Mets rotation onto the Mariners: they'll lose a hell of a lot more than they win. Curt Schilling would have lost 20 games a season with complete games giving up 1 run if his team couldn't score. So the "it" factor of playing under pressure? Don't care.

Also, are the Mets really that big of a media? I hear a hell of a lot more about the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, etc. Don't understand how not being up there with them is being in the spotlight simply because it's New York. They're kind of the Oakland to San Francisco.
 
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