2012 Major League Baseball

[pair8head]

Felix Hernandez pitched a perfect game, third one this year.

Second one at the Safe this year. The first one Seattle was the victim.

Two perfect games? And don't forget Seattle's was it 4 or 6 pitcher no hitter. That was pretty cool! Seattle is obviously the Vortex of baseball energy this season.

6

[surfpirate]

Three big games coming up!

NATS 5 Braves 4 in 13 innings.

Nationals are 30 games over .500 ..... 76-46 (.623)

[Tequila Revenge]

Bill 'Spaceman' Lee ready to take the mound

The inaugural season for the San Rafael Pacifics has had some extraordinary moments, but come Thursday, the year should be considered out of this world. Former major league pitcher and Terra Linda High grad Bill 'Spaceman' Lee has been signed by the Pacifics and will start on the mound Thursday against Maui.

http://www.marinij.com/sports/ci_213588 ... st_emailed



Not only will fans get to see Lee pitch on Thursday, they will also get to see him hit. A requisite of a 'Spaceman' start is there is no designated hitter and he will be batting ninth. So with a chance to make history again as the oldest pitcher, now at 65, to pitch in a professional game, Lee explains that that's the last thing on his mind.

"I'm not going out there for that," Lee said. "I mean I go out there to win and everything like that, but I'm going out there to hit a three-run homer. That's what I want to do."

[txaggirl91]

The Rocket is back in the news.... The game is already sold out.

http://tracking.si.com/2012/08/20/roger ... -skeeters/

Seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, now 50 years old, will pitch Saturday night for the Sugar Land Skeeters, a Texas-based team in the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, the team announced in a press release.

Clemens, who in June was found not guilty of charges that he lied to Congress in connection to its probe into steroid use in baseball, last played in 2007.

But FOX 26 of Houston reports Clemens was throwing in the high 80s during his workout for the Skeeters. It’s unclear whether he will keep pitching for the team, or if this will be a one-time appearance, reports USA TODAY.

FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal also reported that the Houston Astros’ amateur scouting director watched Clemens throw on Monday.

“It is at this point a fun, local, one-time kind of thing,” Clemens’ agent Randy Hendricks wrote in an email to USA TODAY‘s Paul White. “If he does well, he will probably make at least one more home start. He threw 87 mph today with four pitches working, so he looks good to go at this point.”

[Tequila Revenge]

Bill Lee wins professional game at 65

Lee, a 65-year-old left-hander who won a 119 games in 14 seasons for the Boston Red Sox and Montreal Expos, threw all nine innings for the San Rafael Pacifics - and became, according to the team, the oldest man to earn a win in a professional baseball game. He broke his own record, having won for an independent Massachusetts team at age 63.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Bi ... z24TvgprY6

[LIPH]

This didn't take long ...

http://www.yeproc.com/listen-to-the-bas ... on-in-song

[LIPH]

The Mets have been playing the Houston Astros this weekend. Now, I admit that I don't follow sports as closely as I did when I was younger and I don't know everyone in the major leagues. But of all the players the Astros have used so far in this 3 game series the only one I ever heard of is Fernando Martinez and I only know him because he started his career in the Mets' minor league system. Who are these guys?

[txaggirl91]

The Mets have been playing the Houston Astros this weekend. Now, I admit that I don't follow sports as closely as I did when I was younger and I don't know everyone in the major leagues. But of all the players the Astros have used so far in this 3 game series the only one I ever heard of is Fernando Martinez and I only know him because he started his career in the Mets' minor league system. Who are these guys?

That's because the Astros are sooo bad that they are pulling people off the streets in hopes they can come up with a team that wins.

[txaggirl91]

Clemens’ comeback with Skeeters a qualified success, but Rocket gives no hint of his plans

http://blog.chron.com/ultimateastros/20 ... in-return/

SUGAR LAND — On a night precious little was normal for Roger Clemens, there were familiar signs of the Rocket of old.

Before a crowd of 7,724 on Saturday night at Constellation Field, wearing the uniform of the Sugar Land Skeeters, Clemens pitched well and his team won.

And now, the question is the same as it has been since Clemens, 50, announced early last week he would make his first appearance in a professional baseball game since 2007: What’s next?
That remains unclear.

Clemens allowed one hit over 31⁄3 innings as the Skeeters took a 1-0 win over the Bridgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League. Afterward, he would not say if he will pitch again for the Skeeters, and he said his performance — contrary to comments by some observers — doesn’t make him think he’s ready to attempt a return to the major leagues.

“No, it doesn’t,” he said. “I’ve had success before at that level and other things. Again, it’s a great deal of work, and I’m not thinking that at this point.”

Clemens faced 11 hitters and threw 37 pitches, including 24 strikes, with two first-inning strikeouts, four groundouts, four fly outs and no walks to go with one hit. His fastball was clocked at a maximum of 88 mph.
He departed to a loud ovation, tipped his cap to the Bluefish dugout and then spent the next couple of innings, talking with Skeeters pitcher and former major league Scott Kazmir, who is attempting a comeback.

Good experience
“I knew it might make a little noise, but I never expected this,” Clemens said. “I was able to go out and make a good showing. If one person was smiling and happy, we got out of it what we wanted to get out of it. I’m happy for them. I’m happy I stayed healthy.”

Clemens’ start came less than a week after he pitched in a simulated game at Constellation Field and committed to playing for the Skeeters, managed by former Astros coach Gary Gaetti.

And it was far from a normal outing: It would have been unimaginable, during Clemens’ career as one of the fiercest competitors in baseball, that he would consent to an on-field television interview before taking the mound as he did with ESPN Classic, which carried the game live.

Once the game began, though, things looked more familiar. He retired the side in order in the first inning with two strikeouts, allowed a two-out single in the second and retired the Bluefish in order in the third before leaving after retiring one batter in the fourth.

“I thought (the Bluefish hitters) were a little passive early, but maybe it was because it was on TV,” Clemens said. “That worked to my benefit, because I could throw strike one. The ball was down good today, and my legs stayed underneath me.”

Bridgeport’s only hit was a second-inning single to right-center by James Simmons, an outfielder from Irving Nimitz who was drafted by the Giants in 2005 and last year played with Fresno in the Class AAA Pacific Coast League.

“I think he threw pretty well, to be honest with you, for his first start back after, what, five years,” Simmons said. “We prepared a little bit for it, but like baseball is, you’ve still got to throw the ball over the plate and swing at strikes.

The lone hit
“I was just looking for a certain pitch and he ended up throwing it over the plate and I put a good swing on it, and that’s all I can do – touch the barrel and get a hit. I definitely will remember that.”

Clemens plans to play in a golf tournament this week in Myrtle Beach, S.C., but will consult with Gaetti about the possibility of pitching again with the Skeeters.

“I don’t know exactly what is next,” he said. “We’re going to talk, and I’ll call Gary and we’ll visit. If I can do something special down the road, we’ll do it again. I’m definitely open if they want to do it.”

“That was a great deal of fun for me, now that it’s over and I stayed healthy. We put a smile on everybody’s faces.”

Astros scout Scipio Spinks was on hand to watch Clemens. Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow had no comment on Clemens’ performance.

Chronicle contributor Jason McDaniel and sports editor Nick Mathews contributed to this report.

david.barron@chron.com

[LIPH]

I heard an interesting theory about Clemens pitching for that minor league team. He's eligible for the Hall of Fame now but with all the steroid controversy he probably won't get voted in. If he shows enough in the minor leagues that some team takes a chance on signing him after September 1 when major league rosters are expanded from 25 to 40 players, even pitching just 1 inning stops the clock on his Hall of Fame eligibility and he would have to wait another 5 years before he gets on the ballot again. Maybe he thinks in 5 years some of the controversy will die down and he'll have a better shot at getting into the Hall.

[chippewa]

I heard an interesting theory about Clemens pitching for that minor league team. He's eligible for the Hall of Fame now but with all the steroid controversy he probably won't get voted in. If he shows enough in the minor leagues that some team takes a chance on signing him after September 1 when major league rosters are expanded from 25 to 40 players, even pitching just 1 inning stops the clock on his Hall of Fame eligibility and he would have to wait another 5 years before he gets on the ballot again. Maybe he thinks in 5 years some of the controversy will die down and he'll have a better shot at getting into the Hall.

That's about what I think is going on. Despite saying he's not concerned about the Hall, setting back the clock would improve his chances. If he's on the ballot next year and gets less than 5% of the vote, he's off the ballot for good. That would leave his only chance to gain entry with the Veteran's Committee. I think he's banking on the fact that America is a very forgiving country, and the opinion of him will be much different in five years time. But sportswriters can have a very long memory, and he was never very media-friendly when he played.

[LIPH]

I wonder how long it's been since you could say, on Sept. 4, that the Orioles were in 1st place?

[txaggirl91]

Clemens is pitching again Friday night.

[surfpirate]

I wonder how long it's been since you could say, on Sept. 4, that the Orioles were in 1st place?

1997 .... wire to wire first place.

[Hockey Mon]

I wonder how long it's been since you could say, on Sept. 4, that the Orioles were in 1st place?

1997 .... wire to wire first place.

But not as long as it has been since the Nationals/Senators we this many games over .500.

Baseball is a fun game to watch when your team is winning.

[surfpirate]

I wonder how long it's been since you could say, on Sept. 4, that the Orioles were in 1st place?

1997 .... wire to wire first place.

But not as long as it has been since the Nationals/Senators we this many games over .500.

Baseball is a fun game to watch when your team is winning.

I had Orioles 13 game plan tickets every year
from 1983 (World Series champs)
through 2005.
1983-1991 at Memorial Stadium, lower box, first base side, section 33.
1992-2005 at Camden Yards, lower box, first base side, section 8.

I attended about 25+ games/year.
I attended O's Spring Training games in Florida for many years.
I went on road trips to see the team play in Cleveland, Seattle, Oakland, Atlanta,
Texas, Toronto, the Yankees (booooo!), Tampa Bay.

I was at the last game ever played at Memorial Stadium.
The first game at Camden Yards.
The 1993 All-Star Game at Camden Yards.
Cal Ripken's record breaking game 2131.
Cal Ripken's final game at the old Yankee Stadium.
Cal Ripken's final game ever at Camden Yards.

But only a few playoff games (1997).

Years of mediocrity and Peter Angelos chased me away.

Today my son and I are diehard Washington Nationals fans.
We still root for the Orioles and whoever is playing the Yankees,
but we are primarily Nats fans.

[Tequila Revenge]

Clemens is pitching again Friday night.

Spaceman throws a complete game at 65 years old and the only thing ESPN wants to talk about is that 50 something cheater guy from UT

[Tequila Revenge]

Today my son and I are diehard Washington Nationals fans.

Glad you and your son discovered real baseball

[Tequila Revenge]

Today the New York Yankees and the Oakland Athletics have the same record, 76-59. Just a tad difference between the teams payrolls.

[Wino you know]

SHOCKING NEWS FROM MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL:
The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs have been eliminated from post-season play for 2012.