2014 MLB Thread & Pissing Match

[NavinRJohnson]

If it's a chronic problem it hurts regardless of whether he is performing well at the plate or not.  If he needs a day off because of the pain in the middle of a slump, then he would also need a day off in the middle of a hot streak due to the pain.  The pain doesn't just pick and choose when it comes and goes with a chronic injury.  It's always there.  Either man up and accept the fact that you aren't playing well and work your way through the slump, or take your days off when you're hot too.  It's incredibly predictable when the thumb is going to "flair up" for him.  Go 0-4?  Well, if he has another 0 fer the next day you can all but guarantee that thumb will be hurting bad enough for him to need a day to rest it the following day.  But if somehow he goes 0-4 and follows it up by a 2-4 day with a homer and double, no problem.

Dude, what the hell are you talking about? Tough to answer I'm sure, because you obviously have no idea. How the hell do you know when it hurts and when it doesn't? When it flares up, and when it doesn't hurt? What impact getting jammed on a inside pitch may have? How much good a day off might do?  

Fact is you have no friggin clue if it may hurt one day but feel fine the next. You're simply making crap up to fit your "it's obviously that he's not taking PEDs" narrative.

[NavinRJohnson]

The point is, quit using the excuse as fans. If it was affecting his play, he would not be playing.

Who would be?

[🏀]

Who would be?

A player of common skills available for minimum cost to a major league baseball team. A team of replacement-level players would be expected to win a baseline minimum number of games, typically 40-50, per 162 game season.

[NavinRJohnson]

A player of common skills available for minimum cost to a major league baseball team. A team of replacement-level players would be expected to win a baseline minimum number of games, typically 40-50, per 162 game season.

That's great, but who is that guy on the brewers' roster, for whom Segura should "pull himself?"

For the record I don't really use the son thing as an excuse (he already wasn't hitting). Is it a minor factor, yeah probably, but the bigger issue is they simply don't have a better option at the position.

[wadesworld]

Dude, what the hell are you talking about? Tough to answer I'm sure, because you obviously have no idea. How the hell do you know when it hurts and when it doesn't? When it flares up, and when it doesn't hurt? What impact getting jammed on a inside pitch may have? How much good a day off might do?  

Fact is you have no friggin clue if it may hurt one day but feel fine the next. You're simply making crap up to fit your "it's obviously that he's not taking PEDs" narrative.

So it's just a big coincidence that it only hurts when he's slumping?  Interesting.  That's my point.  I have yet to see him need a day off when he's hot.  That's exactly the point.  He needs days off, but somehow it magically only hurts when he's 0 for his last 12.  It has never hurt him when he's going 5 for 12.  How is that?  That's crazy.  I wish my body would pick and choose when it wanted to fail me like that.  Work's busy?  Wow, I just magically came down with the flu boss.  Slow day and I'll be able to leave early?  Yup, feeling great!  How convenient.

[🏀]

That's great, but who is that guy on the brewers' roster, for whom Segura should "pull himself?"

Why do they have to be on roster?

[🏀]

That's great, but who is that guy on the brewers' roster, for whom Segura should "pull himself?"

For the record I don't really use the son thing as an excuse (he already wasn't hitting). Is it a minor factor, yeah probably, but the bigger issue is they simply don't have a better option at the position.

If they were true contenders, they could have gotten a so/so SS for cheap off waivers.

[NavinRJohnson]

So it's just a big coincidence that it only hurts when he's slumping?  Interesting.  That's my point.  I have yet to see him need a day off when he's hot.  That's exactly the point.  He needs days off, but somehow it magically only hurts when he's 0 for his last 12.  It has never hurt him when he's going 5 for 12.  How is that?  That's crazy.  I wish my body would pick and choose when it wanted to fail me like that.  Work's busy?  Wow, I just magically came down with the flu boss.  Slow day and I'll be able to leave early?  Yup, feeling great!  How convenient.

Holy cow, do you read what you write? So you are suggesting that the thumb bothers him because he isn't hitting, as opposed to him not hitting because the thumb is bothering him? Got it. Seriously, which one is the more  logical chicken, and which one is the more logical egg? Though I'm not sure asking you to use logic on this topic is wise, given that you are intent on trying to make the whole thing fit your PED narrative.

Is it a coincidence it hurts when he's slumping? No, more likely it is the reason he's slumping when it hurts. Is that really hard to get a handle on?  I have to assume the concept of an injury affecting a players play is not a foreign one to you. Happens all the time in every sport. Apparently in your odd little baseball world though, that couldn't possibly apply to Ryan Braun.  I'm out on this one. Your arguments couldn't be more silly.

[NavinRJohnson]

If they were true contenders, they could have gotten a so/so SS for cheap off waivers.

Good catch, given that 8/31 was 4 days ago...that's why they need to be on the roster. How do you know they didn't try? You don't. What would they have had to give up to get said replacement level SS (even though Segura is still slightly AR, despite the horrible season)? Would it have been worth the incremental improvement? You have no idea. Trades don't just happen because you ask nicely, you need a willing partner. Using your logic, since its so easy, they should have just gone out and picked up a 1B and another SP or two as well.

Anyway, that's not even close to the argument you were making...a few posts ago it wasn't about Doug Melvin, it was about RR...saying...

"Then he and/or RR should remove him from the lineup."
"just do something"
or that he should "pull himself."

That's great to say, but the question you cannot seem to answer is who specifically should RR or Jean Segura have put in there in his place? Who is, was, or will be the better alternative? Very easy to say that stuff, a little harder to wave your magic wand and make a MLB SS appear.

[wadesworld]

Holy cow, do you read what you write? So you are suggesting that the thumb bothers him because he isn't hitting, as opposed to him not hitting because the thumb is bothering him? Got it. Seriously, which one is the more  logical chicken, and which one is the more logical egg? Though I'm not sure asking you to use logic on this topic is wise, given that you are intent on trying to make the whole thing fit your PED narrative.

Is it a coincidence it hurts when he's slumping? No, more likely it is the reason he's slumping when it hurts. Is that really hard to get a handle on?  I have to assume the concept of an injury affecting a players play is not a foreign one to you. Happens all the time in every sport. Apparently in your odd little baseball world though, that couldn't possibly apply to Ryan Braun.  I'm out on this one. Your arguments couldn't be more silly.

I have a bridge that I'll sell you if you think Ryan Braun slumps because of a thumb injury and that it's just a coincidence that he's played through injuries prior to being caught using PEDs and still raked, yet now a thumb injury is going to take him from a .330, 35-40 homer guy down to .275, 22 homer guy.  But hey, it's not the PEDs, it's the thumb.

[Benny B]

It's not just Braun's thumb that's bothering him.  My guess is that his intercostal seems to have flared up again...  bat speed (and power) comes from the arms and the torso, not the thumb.  You can swing a bat at normal speed using eight fingers... it might feel loose in your hands, but with batting gloves and enough pine tar, it isn't going anywhere.  Thumbs, however, are crucial to control of the bat during the swing... one bad thumb could cause the bat to waggle a little as you swing, and in a game where millimeters matter when it comes to hitting the ball, it's awfully hard to square up the ball when you don't have the full capacity of your thumbs.

Attribute it to whatever you want, but Braun is going to be battling these things for a long time because his body apparently doesn't heal very well.

[NavinRJohnson]

I have a bridge that I'll sell you if you think Ryan Braun slumps because of a thumb injury and that it's just a coincidence that he's played through injuries prior to being caught using PEDs and still raked, yet now a thumb injury is going to take him from a .330, 35-40 homer guy down to .275, 22 homer guy.  But hey, it's not the PEDs, it's the thumb.

Interesting...Melke Cabrera, Bartolo Colon, Nelson Cruz, Johnny Peralta, Edinson Volquez, Marlon Byrd...just to name a few. All received similar suspensions, yet some of them are having the best years they've ever had. So the PEDs they took, what, made them worse? But yet agin, in your odd baseball world, it seems Ryan Braun is only capable of being a good baseball player if he takes PEDs, despite the fact the everyone associated with the team...RR, Doug Melvin, Gord Ash, have talked about the thumb injury and its impact on his play. But you're probably right, I'll trust your obviously uneducated opinion over theirs.

[Spotcheck Billy]

Bat speed isn't there.  Is it the injury?  Maybe, I guess.  But maybe the lack of being on PEDs for the first time since early in college (at the earliest) is causing more injures.  And why is the thumb only a problem when he's slumping?  If it's a chronic problem it hurts regardless of whether he is performing well at the plate or not.  If he needs a day off because of the pain in the middle of a slump, then he would also need a day off in the middle of a hot streak due to the pain.  The pain doesn't just pick and choose when it comes and goes with a chronic injury.  It's always there.  Either man up and accept the fact that you aren't playing well and work your way through the slump, or take your days off when you're hot too.  It's incredibly predictable when the thumb is going to "flair up" for him.  Go 0-4?  Well, if he has another 0 fer the next day you can all but guarantee that thumb will be hurting bad enough for him to need a day to rest it the following day.  But if somehow he goes 0-4 and follows it up by a 2-4 day with a homer and double, no problem.

you must still be fairly young and not have any chronic injuries - I have a few injuries that I can go for a week or a month and have no pain at all until I somehow tweak it and then it can be constant pain for a week/month(s)

[🏀]

This has to be the worst argument I've never been in.

I've never seen such a dumb counter. I don't care the answer the question you are asking me, stop using the crapty excuse.

Quite frankly, if you're too ridden with emotion to play baseball and you're hurting the team, stop playing. I don't think he is, I think he's an overrated offensive player with a good glove that will play slightly above replacement level baseball for the rest of his career.

[Benny B]

This has to be the worst argument I've never been in.

I've never seen such a dumb counter. I don't care the answer the question you are asking me, stop using the crapty excuse.

Quite frankly, if you're too ridden with emotion to play baseball and you're hurting the team, stop playing. I don't think he is, I think he's an overrated offensive player with a good glove that will play slightly above replacement level baseball for the rest of his career.

Which argument are you in?  There's a lot of schlock going around right now.

[🏀]

Which argument are you in?  There's a lot of schlock going around right now.

Something about how Segura's tears are tasty.

[CreightonWarrior]

The way the Brewers have been playing lately part of me just wants the Cards to sweep them so I can forget about baseball and move onto football.

[NavinRJohnson]

The way the Brewers have been playing lately part of me just wants the Cards to sweep them so I can forget about baseball and move onto football.

You haven't already done that? The Brewers are done. I will tacitly watch on the off chance I'm wrong the WC does open up a world of possibilities), but I've already written this season off.

[GGGG]

You haven't already done that? The Brewers are done. I will tacitly watch on the off chance I'm wrong the WC does open up a world of possibilities), but I've already written this season off.

The Packers start tonight so its all good.

[CreightonWarrior]

You haven't already done that? The Brewers are done. I will tacitly watch on the off chance I'm wrong the WC does open up a world of possibilities), but I've already written this season off.

I'm giving them this last series to see what happens.

And yes thank goodness the Packers start tonight. Not a must-win but would be nice to come out of Seattle with a W. The Fail Mary and their season last year has caused me to develop a strong dislike for the Seahawks

[wadesworld]

Nail.  In.  The.  Coffin.

[brandx]

Nail.  In.  The.  Coffin.

Y.E.S.

[Benny B]

The silver lining here is the humor found in a team going from a 6.5 game lead in their division to out of the wild card waiting until the latter to have a team meeting.

If you're going to have a team meeting... maybe do it when you fall into a tie for the division?  If you're going to wait until the first week of September when you fall out of the WC, is any meeting necessary at that point?

[NavinRJohnson]

Better question, is a team meeting necessary at any point? Always wondered what it is exactly that they supposedly accomplish.

[MUfan12]

Better question, is a team meeting necessary at any point? Always wondered what it is exactly that they supposedly accomplish.

I mean, their manager is so fiery and inspiring that I didn't think they'd need another meeting after he called one in Chicago.