Baseball statistical milestones: Tired.

[Q, West Coast Style]

Who fucking cares who gets his 3000th hit or 500th home run. Funcking sick of hearing about these things. Sick of ESPN "breaking away" to show at bats in meaningless games cause a guy might get a milestone. They should just change the name of the game to "statball." Lame. Stat obsession has fucked up baseball.

[RumpleForeskin]

While I tend to agree with you about ESPN's stat obsession and how much it is magnified, I have to disagree with you about the 3000 hit/500 hr breakaways they do. Only 26 players have reached the 3000 hit plateau, and only 5 have done it within the last 10 years, so its kind of a rare thing. As far as the 500 HR club goes, well that will be watered down over the next few years and it kind of already has begun. There are about 4 or 5 players in the league knocking on the 500 HR club (A-Rod, Manny, Sheffield, and Thome) and only Barry, A-Rod, and Jeter have a realistic shot of hitting the 3000 hit plateau. And Jeter and A-Rod are at least 5 years away from reaching that goal. So, the 3000 hit club will become more exclusive than the 500 HR club in the next few years.

[War Wagon]

Stat obsession has fucked up baseball.

No, it hasn't.

You're simply whining about the media coverage, which i can understand, but the media can't fuck up baseball.

Nothing can fuck up baseball.

[Frank Rizzo]

CAREER WIN A NUVMBER 350 LAST NIGHT FOR CLEMMINGS

[Shoalzie]

The big milestones like 3000 and 500 are worthy of breaking news but these other numbers like 350 wins or 2500 hits or 400 home runs...good numbers but is 340 wins significantly less impressive than 350 wins? 300 wins is a number we might not see very much after this current generation of pitchers in their mid to late 30s/early 40s all retire. 3000 hits and 500 home runs are going to happen much more frequently because of how healthy offense is in the game right now. Pitching accomplishments deserve more props because with how pitchers don't finish games and how a lousy bullpen can spoil a potential win. With hitting stats, the guy with the bat in his hands has way more control over what happens and what type of numbers they post.

[Goober McTuber]

Nothing can fuck up baseball any more than it already is.

FTFY

[War Wagon]

Fox has given baseball a case of media herpes ever since MLB has let them cover the game. The packaging of the game is all wrong in their broadcast.

I seldom watch baseball on Fox. I watch Baseball Tonite on ESPN all the time though.

It wasn't broke until they poked a screwdriver into it. It was the national pastime. The game that the country identified with.

It's still the national pastime from where I'm sitting, and I follow a perennial last place and 100 game losing team. Fox can't fuck up baseball.

What is it now?

It's still a beautiful game, to be savored on the front porch with a cold beer on a warm summer night and the radio tuned to the voice of the Royals.

The game is in serious danger of falling the way of greyhound racing over the course of the next 30 years unless someone with a clue is given the reins.

Wha? Greyhound racing? You just compared MLB to greyhound racing? You can't be serious, and I actually like greyhound racing.

[War Wagon]

How old are you, Wags?

If you're older than 40 and tell me that the game of baseball has increased in popularity over the last 20 years, you are either blind or stupid.

I'm 45. Yes, I may be blind and stupid (I live and die, mostly die, with the Royals for gosh sakes), but I don't think baseball is in danger of collapsing despite your ludicrous claims. Attendance figures have been pretty steady, and the sick money paid to free agents last year should've been your first clue that MLB is fairly healthy. $55 mil for Gil Meche? Wise investment. The guy's been a stud.

But once the post season starts...

Playoffs? Don't talk to me about playoffs.

Why can't they leave our game alone?

You're getting all weepy eyed and hysterical now, Todd. Quit making mountains out of molehills.

The game itself will be fine. They play it between the lines and the rules are still the same (except for that pesky DH).

"and it's one, two, three strikes yer out at the ol' ballgame."

[rozy]

A yankee fan talking about the game dying.

Now THAT is priceless.

[Dinsdale]

I may be stupid

If you think Gil Meche is a stud, then yeah, pretty much.

Let me restate my position, for the record -- I HATE the Mariners. With a passion. They always have plenty of players I like(including my main man Sexy), and often stack up the roster with U&L guys, which is a bonus... but it's the enemy, and I wish death upon all things Mariner.


That said, I still catch a huge chunk of Mariners games. Pretty much every game is on Fox Sports Northwest, and every game is on the radio, and I LOVE radio games.

What I'm saying, is I'm pretty familiar with them, and their current and past players.

And we in the U&L were shocked when KC ponied up that big deal to Meche. We were even more shocked when he actually did well for a few weeks.


But...don't think it's going to last, Royalfan. Gil is absolutely famous around here for putting together a few great weeks, with the occasional blowup inning. Then... it's gone. The only spot he'll find is the sweet spot of the opposing bats.

This isn't the first time we've seen this. When Meche came up, he put on a most impressive display, and was looking like the second-coming of Tom Glavine. Guy barely gave up a hit in his first several games.


And then the real Gil Meche came out to play. Whole different story.

Actually, the local radio honks were just discussing this yesterday. One of them is KC born and raised, and is a huge Royals fan... and he knows it's coming. Everyone around here knows it's coming. The meltdown is imminent.

Now, I think everyone familiar with his days north of here think he's a good guy, he works as hard as anyone, and should be an asset over the long term. But...

It's coming.

In the proud tradition of the Mariners finding superstud pitching prospects, bringing them up and having them achieve amazing feats of rookie pitcher accomplishments...then it happens. Sometimes it's an injury thing, sometimes it's a mental thing... but it's always something.

Not many guys have recovered. Freddy Garcia had one decent stretch after he left. Joel Pinero probably won't(the only fresh-up pitcher I can think of who may have made a better "first few games" impression than Meche). I could name quite a few more M's pitching disasters from the last 10 years or so, but you get the point.


JJ Putz -- your time is coming. NO ONE gets more than a few good months in Seattle. No M's pitcher has really played consistantly since Unit. And he's the exception, not the rule. And those melted pitchers tend to continue their roller-coaster ways long after they leave(after driving fans and management nuts).


Meche was a decent addition for the Sucks Royally, but 5 years(?) was probably too long. He'll play well most of the time. And when he doesn't, the Rangers will put up 18 runs on him before the manager can walk all the way out to the mound.


Good luck with that.

[War Wagon]

Dins, when referring to Gil Meche, please include the words "ALL STAR" within the description. Thanks.

Yes, I know that each team gets a token player regardless of whether they deserve it or not. And I know that he's not one the elite pitchers in the league, but still... he's met or exceeded just about all expectations thus far and his 5-6 record is not indicative of how well he's pitched. He's gotten very little run support and could easily have 10 wins if the offense would've come to life in his starts like it has for, say, Delarosa who has notched 6 wins despite a sky high ERA and WHIP.

Meche has pitched 116 innings so far with 3.24 ERA. He consistently has given the team "quality starts" going at least 6 innings and giving up 3 runs or less. 14 out of 18, to be exact. Compared to the crap for SP we've had the last few years, the guy is most definitely a stud.

I'd have to say that you are both blind and stupid then, warwag, if you believe that baseball has grown in popularity from its elite perch at the top of American sports 20 years ago.

And it has no future because the current school age generation isn't picking it up in the numbers from when we were both in grade school. The park ballfields are empty. The only kids playing the game are the ones whose parents force them to take part in it.

To quote LTL2...you need to Wakey Wake, War Wagon. The game is dying and you may very well see its demise before your own.

Dude, I don't know about where you live, but around here (and I suspect most other areas) the game is alive and well for kids. There are leagues and tournaments in addition to High School ball from March thru October. The fields are full from sun-up to sundown. There aren't enough fields, and more need to be built.

As for MLB dyng, that's a buch of horse shit. Let me quote a few simple figures that I just came across in this weeks SI to back up my claims. In interleague games this year, the average attendance per game was 34,905, a 15% increase over last year. A record 8.8 million fans attended interleague games.

Todd, to anyone with a functioning brain cell, those numbers are not indicative of a game or league that's dying. Now, what evidence do you have to support your absurd claims? So far, you've done nothing except post idiotic blather.

Take that garbage and peddle it elsewhere, 'cause I'm not buying it.

[Terry in Crapchester]

A yankee fan talking about the game dying.

Now THAT is priceless.

Personally, I was pretty much done with baseball after the '94 strike. The success of the Yankees brought me back, and that was basically the only thing that brought me back.

Yes, I'm only one person, but I doubt that I'm the only person for whom that's true.

[Terry in Crapchester]

only Barry, A-Rod, and Jeter have a realistic shot of hitting the 3000 hit plateau. And Jeter and A-Rod are at least 5 years away from reaching that goal.. So, the 3000 hit club will become more exclusive than the 500 HR club in the next few years.

When it comes to Jeter, barring injury or a serious drop in production, that's only true if you're counting this season as one of the five.

Jeter is only 700 and change away from 3,000. And there's still half a season left to play this year. Jeter bats in either the 1 or 2 spot for the Yankees into the foreseeable future. That means 200 hits or thereabouts per season, barring injuries or a drop in production.

Calling my shot now: Jeter reaches 3,000 sometime in May 2011.