The Official Non-Red Sox/Yankee Baseball Fan Thread

[jimmiej]

Thank you. I love baseball, do enjoy the Red Sox-Yanks rivalry but not to the exclusion of all else.

As many of you know, I love the Mets....the red headed step child of NY baseball. I've loved them since I was a little kid. I was 8 when they won their 1st World Series. And really started rooting for them in 1972, when I was 11. I've suffered more than I've celebrated, but they are my team. From Tom Seaver to Doc Gooden to Jose Reyes and David Wright, I've rooted for them in good times & bad. Hopefully this year will get better.

So you remember game 6 in the 1986 NLCS against the Astros? Wow, what a game! Bob Knepper was mowin' 'em down till late in the game. Back & forth for 16 innings. When Billy Hatcher hit that homer in the 13th, I almost came unglued! The Mets went back up in the 16th. The Astros put a couple of runners on with Kevin Bass at the plate. Alas, KB strikes out. As I tell my wife, just another episode in the life of a frustrated sports fan...

Truth is, the Mets were bound & determined not to face Mike Scott again.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Hmmm, cautiously optimistic I would say. The better feeling started when we hired Dayton Moore as our GM last season. Our young batters (Alex Gordon and Billy Butler) seem to be doing well though it took Alex Gordon seemingly forever to get on track (that first year in the Majors is often a tough one). In fact, if it was up to me, you would never see Mike Sweeney (when healthy) playing in place of Billy Butler ever again.

Our pitching, especially our bullpen, has been surprisingly good this year and over the last 19 games they have been awesome. We've got a 3.48 ERA over that stretch trailing only your Tigers (3.41) and the Padres (3.43). Our bullpen's ERA over the last 19 games is 1.90!

Finally (indulge me for one more stat), we are 30-27 since our 11-26 start which is not a pennant-winning clip but is great for the Royals. So, it is at least fun to go to the ballpark this year. We know we are not playing "for" anything but we also know we have at least a chance to win most games.

Your Tigers do scare me though. We only have 2 wins in 9 games against them so far this year and I'm pretty sure we only had 2 (maybe 3) wins TOTAL against them all of last year (as I'm sure everyone here knows, with the unbalanced schedule, you play teams in your own division about 18 times or so).

-- Rob

I thought there was a bit of optimism in KC; good for you guys. So long as the Tigers keep the good young pitchers they will be formidable. I hope the ride lasts a long time.

 

[cardaway]

The Seattle Mariners - the best team that nobody talks about.

The really odd part IMO is that their closer (JJ Putz) hasn't missed a save opportunity all year (29/29 incl tonight) and yet there was hardly any mention of him outside of Seattle until recently.

No different than any other year or sport. The only time they mention Seattle teams is when they make the playoffs and they have no choice.

 

[KrnB]

Well, since all of the other AL Central teams are represented here - GO TWINS!!

Thanks for starting this thread, Bob - I'm all for joining a baseball thread that isnt' taken over by people who think that rivalry is the most important (or only important) thing in baseball!

Rob - KC is definitely looking better than they have in the past. There's some great talent on that team, they'll be better in years to come.

What an amazing division the AL Central is.

And just so I can get this off my chest by writing an open letter...
Dear Mr. Moneybags Pohlad,
For all that is good in Twins Territory, find a way to release that clammy, bony grip on your purse strings so GM Terry Ryan can find a way to keep Torii Hunter in a Twins uniform until he decides to retire. You managed to get the public to pay to have a brand new stadium built; now it is your turn to give back to the community. He may not be the best player on the team anymore, but he is the emotional leader, the heart and soul of this team. You owe us that, dang it, for making you even richer than you were before!

Ah, I feel much better now....

 

[Missy1961]

So you remember game 6 in the 1986 NLCS against the Astros? Wow, what a game! Bob Knepper was mowin' 'em down till late in the game. Back & forth for 16 innings. When Billy Hatcher hit that homer in the 13th, I almost came unglued! The Mets went back up in the 16th. The Astros put a couple of runners on with Kevin Bass at the plate. Alas, KB strikes out. As I tell my wife, just another episode in the life of a frustrated sports fan...

Truth is, the Mets were bound & determined not to face Mike Scott again.

My goodness, yes, I remember that game. I was at work when it started...Mets losing 3-0 right away. Was on the train as the 9th inning started...couldn't get reception in the tunnel..as we came out of the tunnel, someone started calling out pitch by pitch...the Mets tied the score. Walked home from the train station, listening to the game.....got home, Mom & younger sisters had the game on...dinner waited while we watched. Cheered in the 13th...cried when Hatcher hit the homer....cheered again in the 16th...sweated out the bottom of the 16th....first thought when Bass struck out was "thank goodness they finally won!" then, "they're going to the World Series!!!!!!". What a post season that was.

 

[Missy1961]

good night last night for the Mets. They win 4-1 as the Braves lose.

 

[MUFFYCAT]

So you remember game 6 in the 1986 NLCS against the Astros? Wow, what a game! Bob Knepper was mowin' 'em down till late in the game. Back & forth for 16 innings. When Billy Hatcher hit that homer in the 13th, I almost came unglued! The Mets went back up in the 16th. The Astros put a couple of runners on with Kevin Bass at the plate. Alas, KB strikes out. As I tell my wife, just another episode in the life of a frustrated sports fan...

Truth is, the Mets were bound & determined not to face Mike Scott again.

Best game I ever saw!
I have it VHS, now I need to buy it on DVD.

 

[Missy1961]

Best game I ever saw!
I have it VHS, now I need to buy it on DVD.

86 WS DVD set includes that game. Every inning, every pitch. Best $49 I ever spent.

 

[JennyMominRI]

Well, since all of the other AL Central teams are represented here - GO TWINS!!

Thanks for starting this thread, Bob - I'm all for joining a baseball thread that isnt' taken over by people who think that rivalry is the most important (or only important) thing in baseball!

I'm a diehard fan of one of those teams and I can assure you that I don't feel it's the most important thing in baseball. It's just MY focus(not the rivalry per se but one of the teams)..In fact I really do understand why other people are sick of hearing about it.

 

[KrnB]

I'm a diehard fan of one of those teams and I can assure you that I don't feel it's the most important thing in baseball. It's just MY focus(not the rivalry per se but one of the teams)..In fact I really do understand why other people are sick of hearing about it.

I totally get that - everyone likes to talk about their favorite teams, just as it should be. That's what being a fan is all about! It's just that when it's ALL you hear about on the national sports media, it gets to be too much. Thanks for understanding.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Well, since all of the other AL Central teams are represented here - GO TWINS!!

Thanks for starting this thread, Bob - I'm all for joining a baseball thread that isnt' taken over by people who think that rivalry is the most important (or only important) thing in baseball!

Rob - KC is definitely looking better than they have in the past. There's some great talent on that team, they'll be better in years to come.

What an amazing division the AL Central is.

And just so I can get this off my chest by writing an open letter...
Dear Mr. Moneybags Pohlad,
For all that is good in Twins Territory, find a way to release that clammy, bony grip on your purse strings so GM Terry Ryan can find a way to keep Torii Hunter in a Twins uniform until he decides to retire. You managed to get the public to pay to have a brand new stadium built; now it is your turn to give back to the community. He may not be the best player on the team anymore, but he is the emotional leader, the heart and soul of this team. You owe us that, dang it, for making you even richer than you were before!

Ah, I feel much better now....

Welcome fellow AL Central fan .

I do hope you guys can keep Hunter. My biggest beef with baseball in this era is that players so rarely get to stick with the same team. The Twin fans deserve another icon to go along with Killebrew, Puckett, Hrbek, etc. Hunter would be that guy IMO as an outsider. BTW,, I don't know how they do it, but Minnesota has a knack for developing good young players. Hopefully more of them will be able to stay around a while.

 

[Bob Slydell]

The Tribe's back to within one.

Mike (Cardaway) -- I can't argue with you there. I literally never see anything about the Mariners around here. I would blame it on being a West Coast team, but we hear about the Angels and the Dodgers, so it must be a non-LA west coast thing?

The last news I read was when Hargrove quit suddenly. Needless to say, it was big news around here -- Mike's still loved around Cleveland (and rightly so )

 

[Missy1961]

Some afternoon baseball, one game including one of those teams we're not talking about. (they're losing 2-0 in the 2nd). The other game is Dbacks 1, Cubs 0. Mets-Dodgers at 3:30 EST.

 

[KrnB]

Welcome fellow AL Central fan .

I do hope you guys can keep Hunter. My biggest beef with baseball in this era is that players so rarely get to stick with the same team. The Twin fans deserve another icon to go along with Killebrew, Puckett, Hrbek, etc. Hunter would be that guy IMO as an outsider. BTW,, I don't know how they do it, but Minnesota has a knack for developing good young players. Hopefully more of them will be able to stay around a while.

He is that kind of an icon here - truly beloved by fans of all ages. You just gotta love that smile of his!

As for the Mariners - you're right, Mike, they don't get the recognition they deserve nationwide. And I still can't believe about Hargrove - wow, what a shock. I'd love to know the whole story on that one.

 

[schmitty]

Im a Marlins fan.

 

[jimmiej]

Best game I ever saw!
I have it VHS, now I need to buy it on DVD.

I have the book-read it several times.

http://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Game...1592432?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185056201&sr=1-7

 

[jimmiej]

Well, since all of the other AL Central teams are represented here - GO TWINS!!

My boss is Lew Ford's dad.

 

[KrnB]

My boss is Lew Ford's dad.

Leewwwwwww! He seems like he'd be a great guy to sit back and have a beer with. He's kind of had a tough year, which is too bad.

 

[RobInBigKC]

With apologies to Zippa D and to Nuke, I have to come on here and express my joy at this weekend's events re: one KC Royals team.

Somehow the Royals continued taking series from first place teams in their opponents' own ball park. To review: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim swept 3-0 June 25-27; Boston you know who 2-1 July 16-18; and, this weekend, Detroit Tigers 2-1 July 20-22. So, the last three times we've played first place teams, we've won the series!

But, even more exciting to me, is that with today's victory, the Royals moved into a tie for 4th place with the White Sox. The Royals have been in 5th place since the fifth game of the season. It only took them 92 games to move up to 4th. Even though we may very well fall back to 5th place tomorrow (the New York team that shall go unnamed on this thread is coming to KC for four straight games starting tomorrow), it's nice to be out of 5th for one day anyway.

-- Rob

 

[JennyMominRI]

to 4th. Even though we may very well fall back to 5th place tomorrow (the New York team that shall go unnamed on this thread is coming to KC for four straight games starting tomorrow), it's nice to be out of 5th for one day anyway.

-- Rob

Hip Hip Hooray for the Royals!!!!!