Tabe Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 What happened to Dice-K? He was 'ok' as a rookie I guess.. had a great 2008 and then immediately fell off. Was it injuries? I don't remember the details. He was fine in 07 and 08. In 09, he hurt his groin in the WBC and didn't tell anyone about it before straining his shoulder and missing half the year with that. In 10, he had a lot of nagging injuries. In 11, he blew out his elbow, probably related to some of those nagging injuries. In 12, he still wasn't all the way back from his TJ and was awful. Add to that, he basically started walking a lot more guys in 2008. 94 walks in 167 innings (5.0 per 9) after 80 in 204 innings the year before (3.5 per 9). When his stuff dropped off a bit - injuries or whatever - he didn't have the control to make up for it. Guys who don't throw strikes AND don't have dominating stuff get lit up. And that's what happened with him the last 5 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Lucia Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Yeah, I didn't dive too deep into the stats, but his walks (and later, his homers) went through the roof as he started getting more and more banged up. It all just fell apart for him - and now he's a Met, the poor bastard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 So, he'll go 22-5 this year, but the Mets will lose 100 games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 I could see that. KANSAS CITY—In a meeting that included an elaborate tea ceremony, the Kansas City Royals made their bid to sign prized right-hander Masahiro Tanaka by highlighting their city’s vibrant Japanese history, sources confirmed Thursday. “From several world-class Tang Dynasty art museums to the countless Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines in the metropolitan area, Kansas City reverently honors the ancient traditions of the Japanese people,” said general manager Dayton Moore, who invited Tanaka to join him in the onsen, a Japanese hot spring, behind the centerfield wall. “With numerous cherry blossom festivals and Gagaku concerts, you’ll feel right at home. In fact, many regard K.C. as Little Tokyo.” Following the meeting, witnesses confirmed that the 25-year-old was treated to a Royals-themed kabuki performance starring the team’s current pitching staff. http://www.theonion.com/articles/royals-courting-masahiro-tanaka-by-highlighting-ka,34966/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 4 days left in the Tanaka sweepstakes. The Cubs are 3/2 favorites to sign Tanaka and most reports put their offer at around 7/$190. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Casey Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 If I remember correctly, Dice-K also resisted adapting to American baseball, approaching games as if it were the same as in Japan, which it isn't. I believe he fought John Farrell - he was Boston's pitching coach at the time - on adjusting his mechanics and such to better suit the American game. By the second time he went on the DL, I think most of the fanbase soured on him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antacular Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 What are the major rule differences between the leagues? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 I think the first paragraph applies here. Differences from Major League BaseballThe rules are essentially those of Major League Baseball, but technical elements are slightly different: The Nippon league uses a smaller baseball, strike zone, and playing field. The Japanese baseball is wound more tightly and is harder than an American baseball. The strike zone is narrower "inside" than away from the batter. Five Nippon league teams have fields whose small dimensions would violate the American Official Baseball Rules.[4]Also unlike MLB, game length is limited and tie games are allowed. In the regular season, the limit is twelve innings, while in the playoffs, there is a fifteen-inning limit (Games in Major League Baseball, by comparison, continue until there is a winner; the 2002 All-Star Game, an exhibition match, was a notorious exception.) Additionally, during the 2011 NPB season, an inning occurring three hours and thirty minutes after the first pitch was the final inning, due to power limits imposed because of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.A team cannot have more than four foreign players on a 25-man game roster, although there is no limit on the number of foreign players that it may sign. If there are four, they cannot all be pitchers nor all be position players.[5] This limits the cost and competition for expensive players of other nationalities, and is similar to rules in many European sports leagues' roster limits on non-European players.In each of the two leagues, teams with the best winning percentage go on to a stepladder-format playoff (3 vs 2, winner vs 1). Occasionally, a team with more total wins has been seeded below a team that had more ties and fewer losses and, therefore, had a better winning percentage. The winners of each league compete in the Japan Series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antacular Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 A tie in the playoffs may be the dumbest rule in all of sports. Conversely, the fact that MLB games MUST have a winner (regular season) is borderline insane, being witness to several 13+ inning games before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 I'd be fine if a game had a time limit and they had to continue it the next day or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranesi Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 A tie in the playoffs may be the dumbest rule in all of sports. Conversely, the fact that MLB games MUST have a winner (regular season) is borderline insane, being witness to several 13+ inning games before. If they would speed these assholes up a bit like *BACKINTHEGOODOLDDAYS** 13 innings would only take as long a 8 1/2-inning Yanks-Sox game today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antacular Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 I remember being at an ALDS game back in.... 95? 96? that went 14 or 15 innings, only to be ended by the man with the terrible stance, known as Jim Leyritz. Since those formative years, I've always dredded a tie come top of the 9th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolfan in NYC Posted January 21, 2014 Author Share Posted January 21, 2014 I'd be fine if a game had a time limit and they had to continue it the next day or something. There is. An inning can not start after 2am local time. At that point, they suspend play and pick up the next day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranesi Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 NO MORE STEPPING OUT OF THE BATTER"S BOX YOU XBOX MOTHERFUCKERS. I WANT TO BE IN BED BY NINE!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nice Guy Eddie Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 I remember being at an ALDS game back in.... 95? 96? that went 14 or 15 innings, only to be ended by the man with the terrible stance, known as Jim Leyritz. Since those formative years, I've always dredded a tie come top of the 9th. 1995 ALDS Game 2 Yankees/Mariners. I was 14 @ the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antacular Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 I was 9. My fear of irrationally long baseball games was instilled early on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Apparently Tanaka can't decide and he's running out of time. I wouldn't be surprised if he wound up staying with Rakuten. EDIT: LOL, nevermind. Someone asked him on Twitter to choose a picture for whatever and Tanaka tweeted his couldn't decide. MLB Trade Rumors then lost their mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 YES is reporting it's down to the Yankees and Cubs, with certain sources saying the Cubs offered Tanaka a contract that will be hard to walk away from. Regardless, he's due in the country soon to take his physical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cristobal Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 YES is reporting it's down to the Yankees and Cubs Meaning it's the Cubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Because snow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 EDIT: I hate Twitter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabe Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 If they would speed these assholes up a bit like *BACKINTHEGOODOLDDAYS** 13 innings would only take as long a 8 1/2-inning Yanks-Sox game today. 4-1/2 years ago when I was laid up recovering from my ACL surgery, I sat down and watched a good chunk of Don Larsen's perfect game. The pace of play in that game was remarkable. Say a guy ground out. The ball would get thrown around the horn while the hitter returned to the dugout. When the ball got back to the pitcher, the next hitter would already be in the box, ready to go. Odds of that happening today? Exactly zero. There's no earthly reason for the games to take as long as they do now. Even with half a dozen pitching changes and the longer commercial breaks - which actually account for much of the increase in game time over the last 20 years - the games could STILL be finished in 2:30 if they really wanted them to be. But they don't and so we're stuck with games that move reaaaaaallllly slowly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 The solution? Don Larsen needs to come out of retirement. That or we clone him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 The Phillies are brining back Bobby Abreu.....Now all they need is to get Pat Burrell out of retirement and they will have their 2003 outfield back together Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Good luck, Ryno. Until you play the Cubs, and then I hope the Phillies get skunked and swept in each series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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