The other sports thread

[Thwomp!]

Huge win for Mets!

[Hoss]

The Nats need to fire Williams AND Rizzo. I've said from day one Rizzo was getting too much credit for doing next to nothing. He got an extension last summer despite the team's postseason failures.

 

He drafted Strasburg and Harper (tough decisions there with the best pitching and hitting prospects of all time, huh?).

He gave Werth a contract that was reportedly millions more than his next best offer. Werth was AWESOME for the Nats, but he faded fast and is now at-best a guy who will make every out 10 pitches but still an out.

He chose to move on from Michael Morse in favor of Denard Span who isn't nearly as strong a hitter but is better in the field and strong on the base paths... But he's always had injury issues and those have gotten worse in Washington.

He hates Drew Storen who, at last check, has the best bullpen ERA of any pitcher since he entered the league. He struggled in the postseason against the Cards so the benched him for Rafael Soriano. Soriano was "meh" so they started this year with Storen back as the closer... And all Storen did was have the second most saves in the NL leading up to the deadline with a great ERA. The clubhouse was behind him until Rizzo brought in Jonathan Papelbon who is a great closer but demanded the closer role in Washington. Storen has been decent but not great since. A few really bad outings for him since.

His handling of Jordan Zimmermann has been confusing and he probably leaves the team this offseason.

 

One positive decision was to not give Ian Desmond a big contract because he has been brutally inconsistent this year.

 

The Nats need to shake it up.

[Eleven]

Huge win for Mets!

 

 

Pardon me*, but off.

 

 

 

 

*No, really, don't.  Just off.

The Nats need to fire Williams AND Rizzo. I've said from day one Rizzo was getting too much credit for doing next to nothing. He got an extension last summer despite the team's postseason failures.

 

He drafted Strasburg and Harper (tough decisions there with the best pitching and hitting prospects of all time, huh?).

He gave Werth a contract that was reportedly millions more than his next best offer. Werth was AWESOME for the Nats, but he faded fast and is now at-best a guy who will make every out 10 pitches but still an out.

He chose to move on from Michael Morse in favor of Denard Span who isn't nearly as strong a hitter but is better in the field and strong on the base paths... But he's always had injury issues and those have gotten worse in Washington.

He hates Drew Storen who, at last check, has the best bullpen ERA of any pitcher since he entered the league. He struggled in the postseason against the Cards so the benched him for Rafael Soriano. Soriano was "meh" so they started this year with Storen back as the closer... And all Storen did was have the second most saves in the NL leading up to the deadline with a great ERA. The clubhouse was behind him until Rizzo brought in Jonathan Papelbon who is a great closer but demanded the closer role in Washington. Storen has been decent but not great since. A few really bad outings for him since.

His handling of Jordan Zimmermann has been confusing and he probably leaves the team this offseason.

 

One positive decision was to not give Ian Desmond a big contract because he has been brutally inconsistent this year.

 

The Nats need to shake it up.

 

I have no problems with any decisions other than Storen and MAYBE the (sometimes overrated) Zim.

 

But a team with that talent should be going further, annually, than it does.  It's hard to lay that at Williams's feet when Johnson couldn't pull it together, either, though.  Maybe it's too many good parts and not enough of a good machine.

[Thwomp!]

Pardon me*, but ###### off.

 

 

 

 

*No, really, don't.  Just ###### off.

 

 

Yeah you have it so tough. The Mets have only gone 15-41 vs the nats the 3 years previous to this one. Many of those losses in heartbreaking fashion. I have the same feelings as you but towards the nationals.

 

And the Mets are 9-6 against the nats this year. Hardly dominating. Come back when the nats win 4 total games against the Mets in a season. The Mets have won 4 total against the nats 2 of the 3 past years.

 

Sorry your team is severely underachieving but you're mad at the wrong person.

[Doohicksie]

Meanwhile in the AL.... The Texas Rangers have climbed from the very worst team in baseball to within a game of the division lead.  Last night, everyone around the Rangers in the standings lost, except the Rangers themselves.  And that team ahead of them in the division, the Houston Astros?  They play a four-game series against the 'Stros starting Monday.  This is definitely NOT where I thought the Rangers would be when after their Awful April.

[Eleven]

Pardon me*, but ###### off.

 

 

 

 

*No, really, don't.  Just ###### off.

 

 

Yeah you have it so tough. The Mets have only gone 15-41 vs the nats the 3 years previous to this one. Many of those losses in heartbreaking fashion. I have the same feelings as you but towards the nationals.

 

And the Mets are 9-6 against the nats this year. Hardly dominating. Come back when the nats win 4 total games against the Mets in a season. The Mets have won 4 total against the nats 2 of the 3 past years.

 

Sorry your team is severely underachieving but you're mad at the wrong person.

 

Oh I'm not really mad at you!  It's just schtick.

[shrader]

Pardon me*, but ###### off.

 

 

Josie needs to create a more muscular and green version of your avatar.

[Thwomp!]

Meanwhile in the AL.... The Texas Rangers have climbed from the very worst team in baseball to within a game of the division lead.  Last night, everyone around the Rangers in the standings lost, except the Rangers themselves.  And that team ahead of them in the division, the Houston Astros?  They play a four-game series against the 'Stros starting Monday.  This is definitely NOT where I thought the Rangers would be when after their Awful April.

 

I generally root for the underdogs in all sports!  Rangers definitely qualify as underdogs.  No one saw them coming.

 

Oh I'm not really mad at you!  It's just schtick.

 

:thumbsup:  :beer:  I still loathe the Nationals however!

[Doohicksie]

I generally root for the underdogs in all sports!  Rangers definitely qualify as underdogs.  No one saw them coming.

 

I gave up on this season months ago.  Then all of a sudden.... they started to come together.  They've been a work in progress all season long, and several players have been moved or out.  This seems like one of the busiest transaction years I can remember with the Rangers.  I think the new manager knew what he wanted and got the general manager to find those players and bring them in.

[Thwomp!]

I gave up on this season months ago.  Then all of a sudden.... they started to come together.  They've been a work in progress all season long, and several players have been moved or out.  This seems like one of the busiest transaction years I can remember with the Rangers.  I think the new manager knew what he wanted and got the general manager to find those players and bring them in.

 

Sounds like the Mets who were around .500 all summer after a great April.  They made some moves in July and Cespedes has been the best player in the NL since joining the Mets.  There's also luck involved. If the Nationals were as good as they were supposed to be (Hi Eleven!) the Mets would have been buried and may have not made any moves and Mets fans would be waiting for next year again.

[Hoss]

I don't think the Rangers are underdogs, despite how bad they were. Their roster is loaded.

The Astros are still the underdogs in that division.

[Thwomp!]

I don't think the Rangers are underdogs, despite how bad they were. Their roster is loaded.

The Astros are still the underdogs in that division.

 

I and many other predictions I saw pegged the Rangers as a cellar dweller.  They made some good moves (Hamilton, Hamels, etc), Holland came back strong from injury.  They haven't even had Darvish all year.  They were way out of it until recently and are coming on strong.  Underdog in my opinion.  Astros started as underdogs as well, but they have some pretty darn good pitching (Mets had McHugh and gave up on him :( ), and have been leading, sometimes by a large margin, all season.

[WildCard]

I don't think the Rangers are underdogs, despite how bad they were. Their roster is loaded.

The Astros are still the underdogs in that division.

Really? They may have been the underdogs in May, and maybe even in July when they went in a slump, but they have the ROY, and are a loaded roster.

 

Big Papi is 2 HR away from 500, anyone think he calls it a career if he gets those last 2 before the season ends?

[Doohicksie]

Yeah, well, the Rangers also have Martín Pérez. I wish they would put just about anyone else in the rotation. Down 3-0 in the 5th. Come on Rangers....!

 

Gah. 5-0

[Sabres Fan in NS]

It's all fallen apart. In two weeks from contention for the wildcard to contention for the basement.  :(

 

I meant no disrespect to you.

 

I was seriously rooting for your O's to beat up on the Yankees that day.

 

I'm a fan of the cross-town Nats.  Not too sunny over here, either.

 

Don't you mean the Expos? ...  :censored:

[Taro T]

How the #### did Serena lose?

[LastPommerFan]

First time since 1986 an American League team has hit 2 Grand Slams in the same inning.

 

I'm glad I stayed up :-D

[LGR4GM]

College football week 2, should be interesting.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Round 1 emphatically goes to the Blue Jays.

 

5 runs in the first inning with David Price on the hill almost always means a good result and last night it sure did.

[Thwomp!]

Cespedes now has 16 HR and 40 RBI in 39 games as a Met. 

8 HR and 17 RBI in last 11 games as well.

[Hoss]

Boxing is a joke. Let's just dance around for 12 rounds. Go into the last few knowing a knockout is the only shot at a victory but just let your opponent dance around anyways.

 

Throw all caution to the wind and go all out. it. You get knocked out, whatever. At least try. (I know it's unbelievably exhausting and highly unlikely that your opponent would end up knocked out before you did if you used that strategy late).

 

I hate Floyd Mayweather. scumbag. I hope he falls down the stairs tomorrow.

[WildCard]

You watched the wron boxing match is all my friend. Expecting any entertainment for a Mayweather fight is wrong. Should've watched the Cruz-Mares fight. Now that, that was boxing

Edited September 13, 2015 by WildCard

[ubkev]

Boxing is a joke. Let's just dance around for 12 rounds. Go into the last few knowing a knockout is the only shot at a victory but just let your opponent dance around anyways.

 

Throw all caution to the wind and go all out. ###### it. You get knocked out, whatever. At least try. (I know it's unbelievably exhausting and highly unlikely that your opponent would end up knocked out before you did if you used that strategy late).

 

I hate Floyd Mayweather. ###### scumbag. I hope he falls down the stairs tomorrow.

I feel bad for the younger guys who never got to see greatness in ring that was actually entertaining. You missed out on Tyson and on Evander. On Lennox and on Roy Jones Jr. The slugfests of Mickey Ward and Arturo Gatti. Tito and Vargas, Sugar Shane, De la O and the Executioner. Man, it was all so good once!

 

And now it's gone. We are left with a counter punching, defense first technician who makes way too much money, is a scum bag and has weak smack talk.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Sorry ubkev, but it looks like it's just about over in the AL East.

 

A sweep of the dh yesterday by the Jays puts them up 4 1/2 games on the Yankees.  A win today by the Jays and the fat lady (no offence to any fat ladies around here ... it's just a saying, ya know?) will really be getting ready to sing.

 

Of course, it was only a matter of time before Tulo got hurt.  On a bone-headed play on his part no less.

 

GO JAYS GO!!

[TrueBlueGED]

I've flirted with boxing fandom at various points in my life and nearly every time just find it boring. But even if I didn't find it dull, the more we learn about concussions and CTE...I have a lot of trouble supporting a sport where the purpose is essentially to give your opponent brain damage.