The OFFICIAL 2012 MLB Regular Season Thread

[Otsy]

Originally Posted by Flickered Flame

Johan Santana just threw the first no hitter in Mets history.

Fantastic for Mets fans and Johan Santana coming back from a year + of injury rehab to accomplish this. The 133 pitches scares me though, looks like the Mets want him to pitch again Thursday, hopefully the high pitches won't come back to hurt him again.

[troutman]

SI Power Rankings

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...sct=mlb_t11_a1

[flames_1987]

Originally Posted by troutman

SI Power Rankings

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...sct=mlb_t11_a1

LOL at how bad the SI New Rankings system is this season.

[CofR]

The return of Daisuke Matsuzaka is set for Saturday, as the right-hander will take Daniel Bard's spot in the rotation for a start against the Washington Nationals. Matsuzaka's return to the rotation will come one day short of his one-year anniversary of undergoing Tommy John ligament transfer surgery.

http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/news/ar...k_bos&c_id=bos

[Otsy]

Nice little story on Votto. I love the stats below. Just shows how consistantly he hit the baseball square every time.

Originally Posted by Tom Verducci SI.com

• Votto has not popped up to the infield all season. In fact, he has popped out to the infield only three times in 2,138 plate appearances over the past four seasons.
• The average NL hitter bats .198 when he is behind in the count. Votto hits .300 when he is behind in the count.
• Votto has pulled a ball foul into the stands only once in his entire major league career. Once.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...eds/index.html

[troutman]

Stupid Phillies. Get swept in 4 game series at home by the Dodgers (without Kemp).

[flames_1987]

That Phillies organization is trending towards a very ugly situation. Could be at the NL East basement for years and years.

[Machiavelli]

And Halladay went there for a championship

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Machiavelli

And Halladay went there for a championship

Let me see if I have any sympathy for him....

Oops, guess not. He was on a team that had potential to become something great, especially if he stayed, but no, that wasn't good enough.

So for all I care, they can rot in the basement for the next 10 years. I hope he never wins a championship.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Originally Posted by Azure

Let me see if I have any sympathy for him....

Oops, guess not. He was on a team that had potential to become something great, especially if he stayed, but no, that wasn't good enough.

So for all I care, they can rot in the basement for the next 10 years. I hope he never wins a championship.

What on Earth are you talking about?

Halladay stuck with the Blue Jays waaaay longer than he should have out of loyalty and respect for the organization.

The guy won a Cy Young in 2003 and then resigned with the Jays in 2006 because they were supposed to be on the verge of breaking out and competing in the AL East.

That didn't happen.

In 2009 when the Jays didn't pan out and were once again "on the verge" but he was older and they still were a few years away from competing. 2010 & 2011 they were 4th in the AL East, right now they're currently 4th in the AL East.

Give the guy a break, he wanted a chance to win a World Series, Toronto wasn't going to give him that chance, Philadelphia was (and did, nothing is guaranteed but he had a chance, and has pitched well for them in the playoffs).

It's not like the Jays were a playoff team, contending for the World Series; they were sitting at the bottom of their division years away from possibly making any sort of run.

He gave them a chance, JP Richardi failed him. What more do you want from the guy?

[You Need a Thneed]

6 pitcher no hitter for the Mariners last night.

[Montana Moe]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

6 pitcher no hitter for the Mariners last night.

Wilhelmsen didn't even know they were pitching a no hitter when he came in to close. The catcher, Jesus Montero, had to tell him mid-celebration.

[Flames in 07]

I'm sure I'm not the first to say it, but baseball is so much easier to watch on TV on Sunday nights without Joe Morgan.

[Drake]

Anybody see what happened to Chris Perez today after he picked up the save? You might not want to watch this before or right after you eat.

[troutman]

Is Lincecum finished at age 27?

Tim Lincecum's 'Freak' show is turning into nightmare for Giants
http://www.insidebayarea.com/monte-p...ce=most_viewed

Lincecum (2-7) exited to polite applause that barely obscured the anxieties felt by Giants fans and those that surely must be descending upon the Giants as an organization. This was San Francisco's eighth consecutive loss in games started by Lincecum. The Giants this season are 2-11 in his starts, 32-16 when somebody else takes the ball.

The man who started on Opening Day is now the fifth-best starter in a five-man rotation. The unlikeliest pitching beast we ever saw command a major league mound is now a sub-mediocre pitcher merely hoping to put a pitch where he wants.

How many rocky Lincecum starts can Giants take?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...SPK21OVT7U.DTL

Lincecum will be starting in Seattle on Saturday, for a few good reasons.

One, there is zero way manager Bruce Bochy would embarrass Lincecum by not letting him pitch in his hometown. And hometown love might be chicken soup for Lincecum's funk.

Two, Lincecum keeps giving hints that he's just a tweak or a fortunate break away from getting back to normal. His speed-gun readings were fine. He struck out the side in the second inning, had five K's in 5 2/3 innings.

Three, he's Tim Lincecum. Two Cys and a World Series ring have earned him platinum cred. Sentiment can have a short shelf life in baseball, but Bochy isn't even close to bailing on his Timmy.

[Drake]

Andre Ethier signs an extension that will see him stay in LA until at least 2017. The deal is worth $85 million.

http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/ne...824865346-1034

[GirlySports]

So this is what happens when someone catches up to a 100mph fastball.

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?co...58341&c_id=mlb

[troutman]

Matt Cain 3 outs away from Perfection ...

He did it!!!!! PERFECT!!!!

[GirlySports]

it's on sportsnet right now!

[GirlySports]

woooooooooooooooooooooow the 3rd baseman must have been so nervous!!!!!!