8/23 Cheering, Venting, Fatolo & Beltre's Unpossible Feat

[bigh0rt]

My closing was pushed back to next week, lunacy has ensued, but apparently this is par for the course... The result? I get to sneak one of these in this week...

Yesterday's headline rightfully featured Oakland A's pitcher, and former New York Yankee, Bartolo Colon being suspended 50 Games for testing positive for high levels of testosterone, the same thing former New York Yankee Melky Cabrera tested positive for just last week. This led to some taking the stance, "... well obviously it's not working! He's been average! Duh." While you maintain this position, please remember that this is a man just shy of 40 years of age who is still throwing a mid-90s fastball. His contract paid him $2,000,000 in 2012. He didn't even play baseball in 2010, at any level. Then in the subsequent two years pitched above average at age 38 and 39. Players are taking this stuff for a reason, folks. It doesn't turn them all into MVP and Cy Young candidates, but they're certainly taking it for a reason, and reaping its effects. That said, there's an unreasonable amount of fat jokes to be made in the midst of this...



It's funny cause he's fat.

Also, let's not forget...



We aren't talking about steroids...

Largely uncelebrated was Adrian Beltre's march to the unpossible feat of belting 3 Home Runs in a single game. Yahoo! has made countless stat errors recently, one of which was certainly crediting Beltre with 2 Homers in the 4th inning of the same game, giving him 3 in total. Since it was all in the same game, we can all assume this will be corrected by Yahoo!, though probably not in time to take effect in this week's H2H matchups. Bazinga! In other digressions, we should really start a list... I'll start. Chipper Jones. Jose Reyes. Mark Teixeira. Nick Markakis. Is it sad that these are the actual names that I remember, verbatim? Who am I missing?

Today's Matchups:

AL:
TOR: Happ (2-1, 5.09 ERA)
DET: Verlander (12-7, 2.53 ERA)

LAA: Wilson (9-9, 3.62 ERA)
BOS: Morales (3-4, 3.67 ERA)

OAK: Ross (2-8, 6.35 ERA)
TB: Cobb (7-8, 4.74 ERA)

MIN: Diamond (10-5, 2.95 ERA)
TEX: Oswalt (4-2, 6.04 ERA)

NL:
COL: Chatwood (3-3, 5.46 ERA)
NYM: Mchugh (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

HOU: Keuchel (1-5, 4.99 ERA)
STL: Westbrook (12-9, 3.50 ERA)

IN: Cueto (16-6, 2.44 ERA)
PHI: Hamels (14-6, 2.94 ERA)

ATL: Hanson (12-5, 4.27 ERA)
SF: Zito (9-8, 4.42 ERA)

[AussieDodger]

Daimon Easley

[Izenhart]

I'm having a huge pitching week, sweeping the board in 9 cats, I just need my hitting to pick things up.

I made a trade earlier in the year, my Beltran for his Pujols. The only reason I bring this up again is because Beltran was dropped and I put in a WW claim and picked him up for nothing. Net gain = 1 free Pujols.

[Izenhart]

Craig Kimbrel's last 6ip: 2h, 2bb, 1sv, 15k

[Mookie4ever]

While you maintain this position, please remember that this is a man just shy of 40 years of age who is still throwing a mid-90s fastball. His contract paid him $2,000,000 in 2012. He didn't even play baseball in 2010, at any level. Then in the subsequent two years pitched above average at age 38 and 39.

That's unbelievable. It makes about as much sense as the plot of The Dark Knight Rises

[bigh0rt]

While you maintain this position, please remember that this is a man just shy of 40 years of age who is still throwing a mid-90s fastball. His contract paid him $2,000,000 in 2012. He didn't even play baseball in 2010, at any level. Then in the subsequent two years pitched above average at age 38 and 39.

That's unbelievable. It makes about as much sense as the plot of The Dark Knight Rises

At least we can postulate as to Fatolo's motivation.

[Skin Blues]

Craig Kimbrel's last 6ip: 2h, 2bb, 1sv, 15k

Yet none of those 15 Ks came in the 13 inning game against division rival Washington on Monday with Kimbrel fresh off of two days of rest. Instead they waited another 2 days and let him pitch to the 7-8-9 spots in the order with a 4 run lead. Nice work, Fredi!

[Skin Blues]

McCutchen's average is slipping still, and Melky is only 3 points away from taking the lead. Ties together two of my favourite ridiculous situations... crowning a "batting champion" to the guy with the highest average and the PED fiasco.

[ayebatter]

Letting Hanson pitch in SF , sitting Wilson in Bos .

[wrveres]

Holy Crap Batman! Colby Rasmus got a hit!!!