A's won the division last year and then got taken out by the woeful Astros in the playoffs. They are a dangerous club though. I was surprised when the Astros went to Oakland and swept them.
I agree George, but their is a difference with me. I won't watch but I have been in a Fantasy league with the same partner since 1993, we are good friends and I don't want to give it up. So I will keep up with scores and stats but don't intend to watch any games including the All Star game and World Series. They can stuff it and if baseball folded I would only miss my partnership with my long term friend.
Trevor Bauer off to a good start...maybe there is a reason. Could it be he's doctoring the ball? If so it's ironic since it wasn't that long ago when he was in Cleveland he accused the Astro pitchers of doing it.
Nolan threw hard his whole career. I just didn't know he threw that hard. I thought that speed was pretty much limited to those closers who lived and died with the heater.
I would have liked to know what Jim Maloney could dial it up to. I saw him pitch several times at Crosley Field and he could pop the mitt.
Jim Maloney, Sudden Sam McDowell, and my favorite, Ryne Duren...who was epileptic, alcoholic and legally blind. Who in their right mind would step into the batter's box against Ryne Duren?
Ryne Duren played that up by always throwing some wild pitches during his warmup. Who would want to dig in against a 100 mph fastball that the pitcher has no idea where it's going. I know Herb Score was quite the young pitcher and set records as a rookie for strikeouts that lasted a long time, but I don't remember if he had a 100mph flamer.
When my son was in high school he had a team mate at Monsignor Donovan who went on to pitch for Notre Dame. I can't remember his name but he was a legit 7'0'' tall and threw right around 98-100 mph. To make matters worse for hitters, he came right over the top so his release point was about 10' over the ground the batter stood on. My son said hitting against him was one of the scariest things he ever did and that's saying something coming from a combat vet and law enforcement officer. He said the pitch looked like it was coming at you from the top of a building. But the guy was purely a 2-3 inning pitcher; he ran out of gas quickly. Just can't remember his name. The best pitcher ever to come from these parts was Al Leiter who played about 20 miles south of here. It seemed liked every time he pitched in high school he either pitched a no hitter or struck out 18, sometimes both. He could throw mid 90s , had a great curve and changeup. And unlike the other guy, he could pitch all day. He won a state title game 1-0 in 15 innings where he pitched a no hitter, struck out 20 and threw over 200 pitches. He walked a couple of guys.
White Sox Carlos Rodon came close to a perfect game vs the Indians but still got the no hitter. Also MLB is experimenting this summer with the Atlantic League teams moving the mound back 1 foot to see how it impacts the game. Goal is to reduce strikeouts. Strikeouts have been steadily increasing over the last 15 years. Also another rule will be tried. When you remove your starting pitcher you also will lose your DH.
Re: Al Leiter. His son Jack pitches for Vanderbilt and is a stud. I saw a few innings vs. LSU, and he was close to unhittable. He currently has a .55 ERA.
On that 7' pitcher from Jersey. Here is the stuff on him, Ryan Doherty, he's now a Pro Beach Volleyball player! Doherty, was born and raised in Toms River, New Jersey,[2] grew up playing baseball, including at Toms River High School East.[3] He was named the 2002 Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of New Jersey[4] and was awarded a partial scholarship to play baseball at the University of Notre Dame for the Fighting Irish.[5] He is believed to have been the tallest player in the history of the National Collegiate Athletic Association baseball history.[6] While at Notre Dame, he did not play collegiate volleyball due to his baseball commitments. In 2002, he was named an All-American.[7] He went undrafted after college, although was eventually signed as a free agent by the Arizona Diamondbacks in June 2005.[8] Despite being the first seven-foot-tall player in minor league baseball history, and playing for the Yakima Bears and South Bend Silver Hawks, the Diamondbacks released Doherty in 2007 after he did not advance past High-A Visalia Oaks.[9]