speedracer
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2001
- Messages
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The 1987 Minnesota Twins won the World Series with a 85-77 regular season record, and that was when only four teams made the playoffs. Nothing to see here, move along.
Tim McCarver Memorial Post-Season Thread, Part Two
- Thread starter Headache in a Suitcase
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
popacrobat
Rock n' Roll Doggie FOB
rainouts suck.
just think though, if the cardinals play .500 ball the rest of the year they are world champions
just think though, if the cardinals play .500 ball the rest of the year they are world champions
phillyfan26
Blue Crack Supplier
- Joined
- May 7, 2006
- Messages
- 30,343
I hate all this "state of sports" when a team who wasn't that good statistically during the regular season (mostly cause of the implosion), who wins a championship. What's the big deal? A team gets a shot, they get hot at the right time, that's always happened in sports.
Just be happy it's not like the NBA where over half the league gets in.
Just be happy it's not like the NBA where over half the league gets in.
RavenBlue
Blue Crack Addict
Maybe this rainout will give the Tigers a chance to play better baseball. They better anyway 
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TheBrush said:
do we need to bring up the record of the 1973 national league champion new york mets?
if the mets bats didn't shit the bed, you wouldn't be dealing with this oh so pressing issue. they did, they lost, the cards won. all year, despite their best attempt at choking it all away in september, i considered the cardinals to be the second best team in the NL, based largely on the fact that the national league west was god awful (despite everyone's best attempts to make it appear to be good... GO DODGERS!!!). it's not like the cards were a team that came out of no where. ya knew they were good all year. the mets had their opportunities, they blew 'em. the cards had theirs, and they took advantage. end of story.
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Hewson
Blue Crack Supplier
Maybe my column should have made mention of random pee tests not taking place during the postseason.Chizip said:
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Hewson said:
ding ding ding
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NEW YORK -- Gary Sheffield was told Wednesday that the New York Yankees will pick up his $13 million option for next season, according to a newspaper report.
Sheffield said he was hoping to test the free-agent market and get another three-year contract, USA Today said in a story on its Web site.
"This will not work, this will not work at all," Sheffield told the newspaper. "I don't want to play first base a year for them. I will not do that."
Sheffield, sidelined from May 29 to Sept. 22 with an injured left wrist that required surgery, hit .298 with six homers and 25 RBIs in 39 games this season. He played first base for the first time in his major league career after he returned in September.
"I don't know what they're [Yankees] going to do," Sheffield said. "Maybe they picked it up just to trade me. If they do that, if I just [go] to a team for one year, there's going to be a problem."
A message was left by The Associated Press seeking comment from Sheffield's agent, Rufus Williams.
It's possible the Yankees are positioning themselves to trade Sheffield, as several teams are reportedly interested in a player of his type. The New York Daily News reported Wednesday that at least a half-dozen teams -- the Angels, Orioles, Cubs, Giants, Astros and Rangers -- are in the market for a power-hitting corner outfielder, and that doesn't include the Red Sox and Mets, who could also use the help. The Yankees can now prevent Sheffield from going to such rivals without getting anything in return.
One GM reportedly called Yankees GM Brian Cashman last week about Sheffield. "To be honest," he said, "I was kind of put off, leaving me to believe he's got at least a couple of teams really pushing him hard [for Sheffield]."
stupid... sure, they'll keep him away from the mets or red sox... but there's no way anyone's taking sheff at 13 million per year, so even if they trade him they'll be forced to pay at least half his contract for this year, anyways.
welcome back, bronx zoo... oh how we've missed thee.
Sheffield said he was hoping to test the free-agent market and get another three-year contract, USA Today said in a story on its Web site.
"This will not work, this will not work at all," Sheffield told the newspaper. "I don't want to play first base a year for them. I will not do that."
Sheffield, sidelined from May 29 to Sept. 22 with an injured left wrist that required surgery, hit .298 with six homers and 25 RBIs in 39 games this season. He played first base for the first time in his major league career after he returned in September.
"I don't know what they're [Yankees] going to do," Sheffield said. "Maybe they picked it up just to trade me. If they do that, if I just [go] to a team for one year, there's going to be a problem."
A message was left by The Associated Press seeking comment from Sheffield's agent, Rufus Williams.
It's possible the Yankees are positioning themselves to trade Sheffield, as several teams are reportedly interested in a player of his type. The New York Daily News reported Wednesday that at least a half-dozen teams -- the Angels, Orioles, Cubs, Giants, Astros and Rangers -- are in the market for a power-hitting corner outfielder, and that doesn't include the Red Sox and Mets, who could also use the help. The Yankees can now prevent Sheffield from going to such rivals without getting anything in return.
One GM reportedly called Yankees GM Brian Cashman last week about Sheffield. "To be honest," he said, "I was kind of put off, leaving me to believe he's got at least a couple of teams really pushing him hard [for Sheffield]."
stupid... sure, they'll keep him away from the mets or red sox... but there's no way anyone's taking sheff at 13 million per year, so even if they trade him they'll be forced to pay at least half his contract for this year, anyways.welcome back, bronx zoo... oh how we've missed thee.
i think the free agency market is going to be nuts this year
there are a ton of teams looking to add an impact hitter, and there are only a couple of them out there. soriano and carlos lee are going to get overvalued monster contracts. so then a 1 year 13 million dollar contract doesnt seem so bad.
there are a ton of teams looking to add an impact hitter, and there are only a couple of them out there. soriano and carlos lee are going to get overvalued monster contracts. so then a 1 year 13 million dollar contract doesnt seem so bad.
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there aren't a ton of teams who want to spend though... soriano should get around 13 million, lee around 8 or 9... sheffield, with his injury history, was probably only looking at 6 or 7 per... and yes, i do understand how ridiculous it is to say "only 6 or 7 million"
Headache in a Suitcase said:
There will be more teams willing to spend then you'd think.
I see Soriano getting up to 15 million per year. There are reports he's already turned down a 5 year 70 million dollar contract (14 million per year)
Lee should get 12-13 million
It's going to be like 5 or 6 years ago when GM's were giving out ridiculous contracts.
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From discovering Pujols to working at Wal-Mart
HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE, Ark. -- Dave Karaff doesn't have to work right now. Five days a week he stocks grocery shelves at the local Wal-Mart, but tonight, he settles into the comfy, oversized chair to watch his beloved St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.
The man's got a right to love them. He spent seven years as a Cardinals scout before being let go in 2003. His biggest signee was the guy walking up to the plate right now: reigning National League MVP Albert Pujols. Yes, that's right. The scout who signed Albert Pujols stocks groceries in an Arkansas Wal-Mart.
How's that for an organizational thank you? Some guys get bonuses. Others get watches. Karaff got canned.
Karaff, a friendly 64-year-old grandfather, doesn't mind if you come watch Game 2 with him, but under one condition: He's not gonna talk about Pujols. Though the slugger is wildly talented, he's also as sensitive as a junior high cheerleader and is still peeved because he believes Karaff said he wouldn't make it to the big leagues. In reality, Karaff felt like he was a talent but not a sure-thing first-rounder. Clearly, every other team agreed.
But after Pujols popped off earlier this year, it's best not to start any drama. So Karaff isn't gonna talk about Pujols, not a word about the guy who looks like he might walk off the high-def television at any moment. Not a word. Doesn't want to cause any problems. Well, you know, maybe a few words won't hurt. After all, signing the probable Hall of Famer is the highlight of his career.
"I will say one thing," he says. "If there's anybody that can stand there and tell me truthfully this is what they thought he'd do, I would call them a liar to their face and never flinch."
Karaff sits in his chair and watches Pujols watch the pitcher.
"When he's going bad, he really floats to that front side," Karaff says. "That's what he did in high school."
He ought to know. Karaff has spent his entire life around the game. For almost two decades, he coached Hickman Mills High in Kansas City. He worked as a scout for the Seattle Mariners and, starting in the mid-'90s, for the St. Louis Cardinals. He'd always been a Redbirds fan; he had his car stolen at the 1985 World Series and, instead of calling his wife, he bought new clothes at a discount store and went to the next game.
Scouting for his favorite team was a dream job, one he took seriously. For 130 or so nights a year, he rated players. He went everywhere. Three years before he was fired, for instance, he was assigned Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, half of Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. The highway was his home. His car logged more than 40,000 miles a year.
Mostly, he charted people who'd never spend a day in the big leagues. Then there was this young man in Kansas City. Albert Pujols. He had obvious skills. The Cardinals' scouting form gave players a grade between two and eight, Karaff says, with each prospect getting a present and future score in each category. A "five" is considered major-league average.
"I probably made him a six hitter future," Karaff says, "but he probably was a four hitter present."
The rest, of course, is history. Though he slipped to the 13th round of the 1999 draft, Pujols made it to the bigs in 2001, won Rookie of the Year and now has 250 home runs in just six seasons. He is arguably the most feared hitter in baseball. He's a superstar.
And Karaff? He was fired in 2003. The team decided to go in a different direction, and there was a massive shakeup in the scouting department. Lots of people were left to wonder what they might have done better. Karaff figured he should have sold his players harder.
"That was probably a weak point of mine," he says. "I sold them on paper, but I don't think I did a good job talking them up. Until the end. If I'm gonna struggle or if I've got a chance to lose my job, I'm gonna put 'em on the line. That's what they want you to do."
Three years later, the wound is still fresh -- seemingly more so for his wife, Jannette, than for him. He's explaining his release, and the personalities involved, and he's doing it with kid gloves. She's sitting nearby, practically simmering.
"Dave's just being nice," she says.
"Jannette," he says, "just let it go, honey."
"Well, I …," she begins.
"Let it go," he says.
He had to let it go. He needed to find a job that offered benefits. Hence the grocery stocking. But there are certainly days he wishes he had his old life back.
"I miss it all," he says. "I really do. It's the most enjoyable job I've ever had."
The things he did as a scout make him proud, even if it didn't end like he wanted it to. That makes Pujols' recent public comments cut deep.
The slugger, for instance, told The Kansas City Star: "He said I wasn't going to make the big leagues. That's why he got fired."
He told USA Today : "How can you draft a guy and say you don't know if he's going to make the big leagues? All of a sudden, the next year (I'm) in the big leagues, and he wants to take all the credit."
That burned up Karaff's family, who felt like a superstar multi-millionaire was picking on a guy who stocks shelves at Wal-Mart. They say Karaff isn't trying to take any credit.
"I was heartbroken for Dave because I didn't think it was fair," Jannette says.
Losing his dream job was bad, but being called out by the player he once championed to his organization is worse.
"I think everything that happened with Albert hurt more," he says.
Still, they are Cardinals fans. Both lean toward the television as their team holds onto a lead. Pujols comes to the plate. Jannette Karaff almost jumps out of her chair. They're just fans now, glued to the television.
"Come on, Pujols," she yells. "Do something!"
Wright Thompson is a senior writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine. He can be reached at wrightespn@gmail.com.
HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE, Ark. -- Dave Karaff doesn't have to work right now. Five days a week he stocks grocery shelves at the local Wal-Mart, but tonight, he settles into the comfy, oversized chair to watch his beloved St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.
The man's got a right to love them. He spent seven years as a Cardinals scout before being let go in 2003. His biggest signee was the guy walking up to the plate right now: reigning National League MVP Albert Pujols. Yes, that's right. The scout who signed Albert Pujols stocks groceries in an Arkansas Wal-Mart.
How's that for an organizational thank you? Some guys get bonuses. Others get watches. Karaff got canned.
Karaff, a friendly 64-year-old grandfather, doesn't mind if you come watch Game 2 with him, but under one condition: He's not gonna talk about Pujols. Though the slugger is wildly talented, he's also as sensitive as a junior high cheerleader and is still peeved because he believes Karaff said he wouldn't make it to the big leagues. In reality, Karaff felt like he was a talent but not a sure-thing first-rounder. Clearly, every other team agreed.
But after Pujols popped off earlier this year, it's best not to start any drama. So Karaff isn't gonna talk about Pujols, not a word about the guy who looks like he might walk off the high-def television at any moment. Not a word. Doesn't want to cause any problems. Well, you know, maybe a few words won't hurt. After all, signing the probable Hall of Famer is the highlight of his career.
"I will say one thing," he says. "If there's anybody that can stand there and tell me truthfully this is what they thought he'd do, I would call them a liar to their face and never flinch."
Karaff sits in his chair and watches Pujols watch the pitcher.
"When he's going bad, he really floats to that front side," Karaff says. "That's what he did in high school."
He ought to know. Karaff has spent his entire life around the game. For almost two decades, he coached Hickman Mills High in Kansas City. He worked as a scout for the Seattle Mariners and, starting in the mid-'90s, for the St. Louis Cardinals. He'd always been a Redbirds fan; he had his car stolen at the 1985 World Series and, instead of calling his wife, he bought new clothes at a discount store and went to the next game.
Scouting for his favorite team was a dream job, one he took seriously. For 130 or so nights a year, he rated players. He went everywhere. Three years before he was fired, for instance, he was assigned Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, half of Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. The highway was his home. His car logged more than 40,000 miles a year.
Mostly, he charted people who'd never spend a day in the big leagues. Then there was this young man in Kansas City. Albert Pujols. He had obvious skills. The Cardinals' scouting form gave players a grade between two and eight, Karaff says, with each prospect getting a present and future score in each category. A "five" is considered major-league average.
"I probably made him a six hitter future," Karaff says, "but he probably was a four hitter present."
The rest, of course, is history. Though he slipped to the 13th round of the 1999 draft, Pujols made it to the bigs in 2001, won Rookie of the Year and now has 250 home runs in just six seasons. He is arguably the most feared hitter in baseball. He's a superstar.
And Karaff? He was fired in 2003. The team decided to go in a different direction, and there was a massive shakeup in the scouting department. Lots of people were left to wonder what they might have done better. Karaff figured he should have sold his players harder.
"That was probably a weak point of mine," he says. "I sold them on paper, but I don't think I did a good job talking them up. Until the end. If I'm gonna struggle or if I've got a chance to lose my job, I'm gonna put 'em on the line. That's what they want you to do."
Three years later, the wound is still fresh -- seemingly more so for his wife, Jannette, than for him. He's explaining his release, and the personalities involved, and he's doing it with kid gloves. She's sitting nearby, practically simmering.
"Dave's just being nice," she says.
"Jannette," he says, "just let it go, honey."
"Well, I …," she begins.
"Let it go," he says.
He had to let it go. He needed to find a job that offered benefits. Hence the grocery stocking. But there are certainly days he wishes he had his old life back.
"I miss it all," he says. "I really do. It's the most enjoyable job I've ever had."
The things he did as a scout make him proud, even if it didn't end like he wanted it to. That makes Pujols' recent public comments cut deep.
The slugger, for instance, told The Kansas City Star: "He said I wasn't going to make the big leagues. That's why he got fired."
He told USA Today : "How can you draft a guy and say you don't know if he's going to make the big leagues? All of a sudden, the next year (I'm) in the big leagues, and he wants to take all the credit."
That burned up Karaff's family, who felt like a superstar multi-millionaire was picking on a guy who stocks shelves at Wal-Mart. They say Karaff isn't trying to take any credit.
"I was heartbroken for Dave because I didn't think it was fair," Jannette says.
Losing his dream job was bad, but being called out by the player he once championed to his organization is worse.
"I think everything that happened with Albert hurt more," he says.
Still, they are Cardinals fans. Both lean toward the television as their team holds onto a lead. Pujols comes to the plate. Jannette Karaff almost jumps out of her chair. They're just fans now, glued to the television.
"Come on, Pujols," she yells. "Do something!"
Wright Thompson is a senior writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine. He can be reached at wrightespn@gmail.com.
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could the bigg be coming home?Numb1075
ONE love, blood, life
Headache in a Suitcase said:
that's a nice story, the homecoming and all, but what does he have left in the tank? The 2006 BA of .246 doesn't get me too exicted. The 21 home runs are nice for a 2Bman, but he was playing in a bandbox in Houston.
MrPryck2U
ONE love, blood, life
First off, there's a real problem when a guy goes from MLB scout to a Wal-Mart employee. No offense to Wal-Mart, but this guy must have sucked as a scout if he couldn't get scout work elsewhere and settled for fuckin' Wal-Mart.
Second, Biggio ain't going to the Mets. It's either Houston or retirement.
Third, Gary Sheffield is an asshole! Always was, always will be. If I were an MLB team, why would I want some injury prone clubhouse disruption on my team. As soon as he got injured this year, I knew he'd be gone from the Yanks. Granted, he's a fearsome hitter(when he's healthy) but I'll be glad to see him gone from the Yanks. Remember, Dwight Gooden is his uncle. And where's his uncle? Behind bars! Some role model. Gary wore number eleven for the Yanks because that's what Uncle Doc wore for them. Retire Gary!
Second, Biggio ain't going to the Mets. It's either Houston or retirement.
Third, Gary Sheffield is an asshole! Always was, always will be. If I were an MLB team, why would I want some injury prone clubhouse disruption on my team. As soon as he got injured this year, I knew he'd be gone from the Yanks. Granted, he's a fearsome hitter(when he's healthy) but I'll be glad to see him gone from the Yanks. Remember, Dwight Gooden is his uncle. And where's his uncle? Behind bars! Some role model. Gary wore number eleven for the Yanks because that's what Uncle Doc wore for them. Retire Gary!
U2democrat
Blue Crack Addict
So is the forecast more rain in St. Louis tonight? I really don't want another rainout
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MrPryck2U said:
what in the bluest of blue hells does dwight gooden being in jail have to do with anything?
MrPryck2U
ONE love, blood, life
Simple, that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Duh!
MrPryck2U
ONE love, blood, life
I guess I'll add that although I think that Sheff is an asshole, I don't think he's a criminal like his Uncle Doc. He might say foolish things, but he doesn't break any laws as far as I know. He was involved in the BAALCO mess, so who knows though?
speedracer
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2001
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Ozzie Smith's kid is pretty awesome.
If the series gets back to Detroit, the Tigers might have to resurrect Marvin Gaye for the national anthem.
If the series gets back to Detroit, the Tigers might have to resurrect Marvin Gaye for the national anthem.
randhail
Rock n' Roll Doggie
MrPryck2U said:
Maybe if Sheff and Gooden were father and son you could say that, but not for uncle and nephew. Actually, you still couldn't say that, you're comparison is probably the biggest reach in recent memory.
TheBrush
War Child
Headache in a Suitcase said:
second best in the national league is still not that good. and 83 wins is not good......I dont care how you slice it. 83 wins in the NL is bad.
Yea the Mets had their oppourtunities and they didnt capitalize, oh well......Im not crying cause they beat the Mets.
speedracer
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
- Joined
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Some of these Tigers outfielders have been misunderestimating David Eckstein's ability to hit the ball deep.
popacrobat
Rock n' Roll Doggie FOB
one more win. i can't believe it.
MrPryck2U
ONE love, blood, life
Wow, I guess I really did jinx the Tigers when I started a thread stating that they would win the 2006 World Series. It looks about over for the Tigers, but maybe they'll win three in a row.
MrPryck2U
ONE love, blood, life
Oh yeah, misunderestimating ain't a word.
Hewson
Blue Crack Supplier
Congrats to the Cards, it'll take a Yankee-esque collapse now to blow the series.
Chizip, enjoy it. I'm sure you will.
StlElevation, U2democrat and all the other Cards fans enjoy it as well.
And thank you from my wallet to the Cards for winning 3 straight series as sizeable underdogs.
Chizip, enjoy it. I'm sure you will.
StlElevation, U2democrat and all the other Cards fans enjoy it as well.
And thank you from my wallet to the Cards for winning 3 straight series as sizeable underdogs.
U2democrat
Blue Crack Addict
I'm going to hold on until we win that fourth game...I won't celebrate early just yet, crazier things have happened in baseball...
But until then...
1 more game!
But until then...
1 more game!Similar threads
