I remember at least ONE time when A-Rod hit the winning home-run in an extra inning game last season. I know, once is not enough, but is not like it never happened...

I remember at least ONE time when A-Rod hit the winning home-run in an extra inning game last season. I know, once is not enough, but is not like it never happened... [/b][/quote]Thanks Tony, I'll hang onto that. I know he's had some hits to start rallies and drive in needed runs, but it's just one those "impressions" you get that he doesn't come through in a big spot. The other night he made a fielding gem that saved a run. I think the guy is a phenomenal talent.

I do remember that game winning home run he hit against boston when Cock Schilling was making one of his first appearances out of the bullpen

Wonderful outing last night, eh? Though we still lead the Wildcard I believe. :rolleyes:

Chalk up another win for the Yanks. Man Chacon has been a GREAT pickup for the Yanks. Did they get him in a trade or off of waivers?

WOO HOO Cock Schilling got rocked in his first start since April by the Royals! 5 innings, 9 hits, and 6 earned runs

Shilling and Johnson - back to the Diamondbacks. The Retirement farm called, they want their old, washed-up pitchers back.

I think they got Chacon off waivers, or for cash. I know they traded Groom to the Diamondbacks for cash/player to be named later, but Chacon came from the Rockies.

Wow another (gulp) win for the Yanks

Yes, Bernie comes up big, and they win even with Randy Johnson pitching. :p

Quick Poll - who thinks Randy Johnson is going the way of Kevin Brown?

Na, Johnson's still a much better pitcher (it's just his location). Another poll, who thinks Cock Schilling is turing into Randy Johnson?

5 runs in the 9th sparks yet another Yankees win!

Irishman....nevermind. :rolleyes:

Yankees have indeed finally gotten their crap together it seems...

as have the MARLINS!

They got Chacon in a trade for two Class A minor league pitchers that nobody ever heard of.

The Matt Lawton pick-up looks like a great one, although the Yanks gave up a legit prospect for him. Some guy named Berg, who was 6-1 with a good E.R.A in Class A (at Staten Island, I think).

Oakland is gonna be tough to beat with their pitching, though.....
The only thing working against the oakland pitching staff, except for Zito, is inexperience.

Hey a win's a win no matter how you get it. BTW, they're staying right on Boston's a$$ and in the Wild Card hunt which is the important thing. So if you're referring to them needing 5 runs in the 9th to win, get bent. They won, that's all I care about!

That was one of the best Yankees come-from-behind wins in a long time. A well-deserved win -- and necessary, too, since they're playing the lowly Royals.

I'm confused - I thought the trading deadline had passed a few weeks ago (with all the buzz about Manny going to the Mets)...how are these trades still happening?

I know I read something about teams having to finalize rosters by the 31st, but still...

Does this mean he'll be playing CF, and we're DH'ing Bernie?

Or are we still going to see the Yanks pursue a marquee outfielder this offseason?

After the trading deadline is when no non-waiver trades can be made -- just don't ask me to explain that well enough. Maybe someone else can...

P.S. How long are you gonna keep that big ass signature? :p

I can

A team can put a player on waivers at any time.

Usually, that's a device that they use for sending a player who is out of options to the minor leagues (I'm not excactly sure how that works. I do know that with a young player, the parent team is allowed a certain number of "free" moves in which they can send him to the minors. But after a certain number - I'm gonna say three, but I'm not sure - the player must clear waivers first.

That means that any other team may claim the player (claims are honored in the inverse order of the standings, or W-L records), in which case the parent team has the option of either letting him go to the team that claims him for the waiver price ($20,000 I think), or withdrawing him from waivers and keeping him.

Generally, teams do not claim players on waivers just to block a trade. After all, they don't know when the shoe might be on the other foot. Plus, if they are out of the race and don't need that particular player, why claim him, especially if he has a big contract with time left on it.

There was a classic example, however, of a team claining a player to prevent another team from getting him.

I don't remember the year, but Atlanta and San Diego were locked in a duel for the NL West. Cincinnati (I think) put reliever Randy Myers on waivers, and San Diego claimed him to prevent Atlanta from getting him (Atlanta had no closer at the time, if I remember correctly).

He wound up not doing a thing for San Diego, and they were stuck with him and his big contract, which still had a couple of years left.

In these days of big salaries, waivers are used when non-contending teams wish to dump high salaried players.

They put a guy on waivers, and see who claims him. Then they know who's interested in the player, so they withdraw him from waivers and try to make a deal with the team that claimed him.

Anyway, in this case the Yankees got Lawton this way:

1- They discuss a deal with the Cubs. After the deal is agreed upon, the Cubs put Lawton on waivers. Or, the Cubs out Lawton on waivers, the yanks claimed him, the cubs saw that the Yanks were interested, so they withdre Lawton from waivers, and discussed a deal with the Yankees. Once the deal was agreed upon, they put Lawton back on waivers, and the Yanks claimed him again.
2- No team with a worse W-L record than the Yankees claims him, mostly because the teams with a worse record are already out of it, and they would have to pay Lawton the remaining $1 million on his contract for this season.
3- The Yankees claim him, and the Cubs do not withdraw him from waivers, because the Yanks have agreed with the Cubs that they would send the Cubs the two minor leaguers that they agreed upon, who do not have to clear waivers since they are not on the Yankees 40 man roster.

Also, to be eligible for the post season, a player has to be on the 40 man roster by August 31st.

plaw, how big is the normal roster and what is this "extended roster" they keep talking about ? Yeah I know nothing about baseball lol

Well, you made that perfectly clear :p (J/K! )

Current MLB rosters are 25 uniformed men eligible to play in a game, and come September 1st, they can have 40 -- presumably to either 1) prepare for the postseason, and/or 2) to check out new talent for next year.

I suppose the expansion could have some effect on our game...

Ah, thanks Plaw. That's something I've never understood.

Actually, since you're answering - I do have a quick question about the "passed ball" rules...when a ball gets past the catcher, sometimes the batter will run to first. Isn't he out if it's a strike? I'm confused. I never understood that rule. I'm not sure if that's only on a 3-2 count or not, either.

Geoff - of course I'll keep it, I love compliments.

If the pitch was called a 3rd strike, and the catcher loses the ball, the batter can try to make it to first before the catcher recovers and throws him out. It's still a strike out, but, the batter can still make it to first as a baserunner. One of those weird rules.

It don't think it has to be a called third strike. Can't it be a swinging strike three also?

And the catcher doesn't have to be charged with a passed ball. The batter can strike out on a wild pitch.

AS far as the rosters go, there are always 40 men on the roster. But only 25 are eligible to be on the parent team at any one time.

If a team wants to send a player to the minors (assuming he has "free" options left), they are free to do so as long as they replace him with someone from the 40 man roster.

If they want to replace him with someone not on the roster, they must first clear roster space for him by dropping a player from the 40 man roster, and that player must clear waivers.

I can't fully explain it, but there are certain benefits that the parent team has with respect to the players that they control on the 40 man roster.

One example is the Rule 5 draft. Players who have a certain number of years in the minors and who are not on a team's 40 man roster, can be drafted for a nominal cost by another team

Hence why you hear pitchers having 4 strikeouts in one inning

Mmm, yeah, that's what I though. But it's not two outs if he's thrown out at first...seems silly.

Okay, yeah, I guess I should've said "considered" the third strike... which is what I meant. Either way, the ump calls it a strike whether he's swinging or not...

[Going out for a while - I'll be back later. But not up too late (famous last words!) since I gotta get up early tomorrow. ]

On a strikeout, the catcher gets credit for a putout in his fielding stats.

If he throws the runner out at first after a strikeout, he gets an assist and the first baseman gets credit for the putout.

I'm not sure what you mean by this:

But it's not two outs if he's thrown out at first.

It doesn't matter how many outs there are.

Hence your position in the Fantasy Baseball League.

(lol)

WOO HOO! Boston lost to Detroit and now the yanks are only 1.5 games outta first and still tied for the Wild Card lead with the A's. And yes ronnie, the Red Cocks (gulp) lost to Detroit :rolleyes:

Since Plaw is being so pleasant and helpful, I have a question. Does anyone know how a player gets his number? Are they randomly assigned? Do they get to submit a preference? I always wondered why ARod had #13, given superstition, like buildings not having a 13th floor. Anyone know?