2011 MLB Season

[Olive the other Jiberdeer]

So, I've never really watched baseball, but after watching a couple of Braves games over the weekend with a buddy, I'm sort of hooked.

Erm...any tips for a newbie fan?

[Lint]

So, I've never really watched baseball, but after watching a couple of Braves games over the weekend with a buddy, I'm sort of hooked.

Erm...any tips for a newbie fan?

Watch a better team...

[Toe]

Braves rock. They are my favourite NL team.

I went to the Jays/Athletics game tonight. I was really chirping DeJesus. He lost a ball in the lights and I really gave it to him for it. It was fun.

[Lint]

Braves rock. They are my favourite NL team.

I went to the Jays/Athletics game tonight. I was really chirping DeJesus. He lost a ball in the lights and I really gave it to him for it. It was fun.

My post woulda have made more sense if my sig showed up… I'm a phillies fan

[Maxx]

Okay Red Sox, this is fucking embarrassing.

[Guest JukeboxHero]

Never thought I'd see the Indians sweep the Red Sox this year. Incredible.

[Meacon Keaton]

I'd settle for third place in the AL East this year as long as the Sox finish dead last.

[naiwf]

So, I've never really watched baseball, but after watching a couple of Braves games over the weekend with a buddy, I'm sort of hooked.

Erm...any tips for a newbie fan?

http://www.baseball-reference.com/

You can pretty much find any stat/player/team/award etc in the history of baseball there. If there are specific rules or whatnot that you aren't familiar with just ask because baseball happens to have a lot of them that you won't pick up on with just a couple of games watched under your belt. Also, as long as you don't support the Yankees at least 90% of baseball fandom will embrace you

Edited April 7, 2011 by naiwf

[Meacon Keaton]

Go to hell, naiwf.

[Maxx]

Can't deny the truth of that statement.

[TheHurk]

The best part of this season isn't that the Phillies are 5-1 and have scored 43 runs without Chase Utley and Jayson Werth, it's that the Red Sox are 0-6. Watching Boston fans panic this early makes my day. Terry Francona can't just set a lineup and sit back now, regardless of how many people think he's the best manager in Boston history.

The bastard couldn't manage his way out of a paper bag in Philadelphia! I could have won a World Series in 2004 with that Boston team, considering half of them were on the juice.

[sahyder1]

The best part of this season isn't that the Phillies are 5-1 and have scored 43 runs without Chase Utley and Jayson Werth, it's that the Red Sox are 0-6. Watching Boston fans panic this early makes my day. Terry Francona can't just set a lineup and sit back now, regardless of how many people think he's the best manager in Boston history.

The bastard couldn't manage his way out of a paper bag in Philadelphia! I could have won a World Series in 2004 with that Boston team, considering half of them were on the juice.

Yeah.....it's not like they were down to their last strike in the ALCS down 3 games or anything like that.

Francona's done a hell of a job with the Red Sox knowing some of the egos that have passed through that locker room. Will anyone honestly be shocked if the Red Sox go on to win 95-97 games this year? The Giants at one point lost 7 straight games.....look where that got them. There is nothing I want more from this coming weekend in baseball then a Red Sox sweep of the Yankees. The smug Yankee fans and broadcasters were annoying the hell out of me today while I was listening to the radio earlier today.

So, I've never really watched baseball, but after watching a couple of Braves games over the weekend with a buddy, I'm sort of hooked.

Erm...any tips for a newbie fan?

No tips that I can think of but like Naiwf said, pop in here with questions.

Edited April 8, 2011 by sahyder1

[gunnar hendershow]

Big series for the Orioles this weekend against the Rangers. Sweeping the anemic Rays and then taking 2 of 3 from Detroit are good ways to start the season, but this is the weekend where we can start to find out whether this Orioles team will just be respectable or actually something a bit more.

Also I fully expect Francona to be gone if the Sox lose this weekend series against the Yanks. Couple the collapse at the end of last year with the bad start this year and it has the feel that the team is no longer responding to him.

[naiwf]

Big series for the Orioles this weekend against the Rangers. Sweeping the anemic Rays and then taking 2 of 3 from Detroit are good ways to start the season, but this is the weekend where we can start to find out whether this Orioles team will just be respectable or actually something a bit more.

Also I fully expect Francona to be gone if the Sox lose this weekend series against the Yanks. Couple the collapse at the end of last year with the bad start this year and it has the feel that the team is no longer responding to him.

If Boston gets swept, and then make the rash decision to boot Francona they may as well just flush the season already. 0-9 and 7 GB this early in the season would be terrible, but firing the manager less than 2 weeks into the season would be the ultimate panic move. They're already messing with the lineup too much, and changing everything else up would probably cripple this team's fragile psyche. You'd also have to wonder who would want to walk into that shitstorm knowing that a change would be expected to kick start a run of wins. What do you do if the new manager comes in and then gets off to a 10-15 start in his first 25 games?

Edited April 8, 2011 by naiwf

[SeanDMan]

Fire him too.

[Ananas]

Big series for the Orioles this weekend against the Rangers. Sweeping the anemic Rays and then taking 2 of 3 from Detroit are good ways to start the season, but this is the weekend where we can start to find out whether this Orioles team will just be respectable or actually something a bit more.

Also I fully expect Francona to be gone if the Sox lose this weekend series against the Yanks. Couple the collapse at the end of last year with the bad start this year and it has the feel that the team is no longer responding to him.

It's 9 games. Even if they get swept, it's 9 fucking games. They're going to dump their long time manager over one slow start and one injury fueled collapse in 2010? Given that one would presume Demarlo Hale would step in to take over in the interim who's already on staff, what indication is there that they'd respond to him any more?

[Meacon Keaton]

People reeeeeeeally need to calm down. Did I miss the memo about the season only being three months long?

I have friends who are Orioles fans who are talking about how they're going to win it all. They clearly forgot what a hot start they were off to a few years ago, only to completely fizzle out after June.

I have friends who are Red Sox fans who are demanding something be done, because the season is a week and a half long and they've yet to win a game.

Have people gone mad and forgotten that there are still 150+ games left to be played? I don't ever remember people freaking out/celebrating so early in the season before.

[naiwf]

People reeeeeeeally need to calm down. Did I miss the memo about the season only being three months long?

I have friends who are Orioles fans who are talking about how they're going to win it all. They clearly forgot what a hot start they were off to a few years ago, only to completely fizzle out after June.

I have friends who are Red Sox fans who are demanding something be done, because the season is a week and a half long and they've yet to win a game.

Have people gone mad and forgotten that there are still 150+ games left to be played? I don't ever remember people freaking out/celebrating so early in the season before.

Further proof that AL East fans are the worst

On a more serious note, Lackey is probably going to get tossed from this game if he keeps barking at the home plate ump. Boston's down 2-0 in the 1st and there have been some questionable calls, but imploding after throwing less than 20 pitches is not a good sign.

[bill_da_bill]

I blame local sports talk for overreactions. At least in my area of Michigan, the local guys are gloom and doom and fire Leyland after 4 games. Than they won and everything was great. Than they lost last night and it's back to two days ago.

Wait a month at least people.

[gunnar hendershow]

Its baseball, teams make ridiculous early season panic moves when they're supposed to cruise to the division title. I don't think its a good decision, but I have a hard time expecting anything outside of a rash decision given the expectations for the team. This isn't a Tampa Bay situation where an anemic lineup and shaky pitching is not going to fall on Joe Maddon's shoulders. Win a game this weekend it is all fine for Terry Francona, lose them all and everyone in New England enters panic mode.