- Jun 10, 2004
- 6,996
- 127
You don't even have the best 1-2 punch in the division...
...::::Official 2010 MLB N.L. Central Thread::::...
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by arstyle27,
- Start date
- Dec 17, 2003
- 9,530
- 91
Wisconsin 4 Life wrote:
Man, Pac and I got buried on this photo.
Just how he likes it, a lot of sweaty guys in tight clothes piled up on him.
And it begins
- Dec 9, 2001
- 10,373
- 3,710
Its funny that w4l is ecactly what you see most of in that pic with his name on it....AN A>S>S!!!!!
I ain't got %%%* else to say to that consistant looser.....enjoy you wins....cause they will be few and far between.
I ain't got %%%* else to say to that consistant looser.....enjoy you wins....cause they will be few and far between.
- Feb 6, 2007
- 76,434
- 36,425
I can't wait for those Thursday afternoon games where I'm in here talkin to myself while you all sit there readin but not sayin anything. Those were fun last year.
Are we celebrating in that pic, or brawling? Maybe we should switch to a brawl photo instead.
Are we celebrating in that pic, or brawling? Maybe we should switch to a brawl photo instead.
- Jun 10, 2004
- 6,996
- 127
As long as its not the Paul Wilson/Kyle Farnsworth one-sided @$% kicking...I'm cool.
- Jan 20, 2006
- 28,177
- 41,783
you gonna be in Cincy this summer? i'll have some tickets i won't be able to use.Originally Posted by wildKYcat
DaComeUP wrote:
Almost that time.
that pic def needs to be updated...why i gotta be the outsider? that should be zo.
I should be around Cincy this summer again.
Reds banking on Bailey to provide wonderful life-support
Story Highlights
Homer Bailey came to Cincinnati in 2007 as one of the game's top prospects
He joins Johnny Cueto, Edinson Volquez to make the Reds a popular sleeper pick
Bailey began throwing a split-finger fastball that made him much more effective
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Homer Bailey went 8-5 with a 4.53 ERA for the Reds in 2009, his first full season.
Chuck Solomon/Sports Illustrated
Related Links
GALLERY: Get to know Homer Bailey
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- A steady rain fell as the manager and the GM stood side-by-side, arms crossed, watching the home bullpen. It was a Saturday at the Reds spring training home and in front of them a quartet of young Reds hurlers were unleashing fastballs through the cold morning air. Dusty Baker turned to Walt Jocketty. "You got to like our young pitching," the manager said.
Dusty's right. The Reds are a popular sleeper pick for a reason. An organization on the rise, Cincinnati -- yes, Cincinnati -- is home to one of the best young pitching staffs in baseball. Johnny Cueto and Edinson Volquez have already arrived. Aroldis Chapman is here. Travis Wood, Matt Maloney, Brad Boxberger and Mike Leake are on their way. But this year the most important young Red -- and, perhaps, one of the most important players in the N.L Central -- isn't the Cuban-born phenom or the fireballer they call Little Pedro. "Homer Bailey is going to be the difference-maker for the Reds," says a National League scout. "They've got a lot of pitching talent there now. But Bailey might be the most talented."
For a photo gallery of Homer Bailey, click here.
David DeWitt "Homer" Bailey, Jr. Remember him? First-round draft pick out of La Grange High School in Texas, can't-miss kid with the golden arm, Savior of Cincinnati. Cocky and brash gunslinger with the electric 98-mph heater and the wicked 12-6 curve. In the summer of 2007, around the time Bailey was promoted from the minors and about to make his much ballyhooed-debut at the Great American Ballpark, there was a big billboard that was up for a few weeks along an Ohio Interstate. On it was an image of Bailey throwing a baseball with the words HE HAS COME. "I'm screwed," Bailey thought to himself as he drove past it one afternoon.
He was screwed. He wilted under the bright lights; he had an erratic rookie season in 2007, and he was a disaster -- 0-6 with a 7.93 ERA -- in 2008. The Cincy media started to turn on him; suddenly the brash gunsliner was just an arrogant s.o.b. He sulked, he brooded. "There was so much pressure on him," says Reds pitcher Aaron Harang. "To come up as a 21-year-old and have so much expected of you. There's no doubt it got to him."
But here he is now, still only 23, relaxed and humbled and poised for a breakout season. Last Saturday morning, a crowd of reporters zeroed in on Chapman's locker after the 21-year-old prospect threw his second bullpen. A few lockers down, Bailey, happily skating under the radar this spring, could only laugh at the Chapman circus. "It's not easy, what he's going through," he says.
Bailey wears cowboy boots, goes boar hunting, drives an F-150 diesel pickup truck, and enjoys reading Stephen Ambrose history books, sometimes at his locker. Late last summer, as the Reds stumbled to another losing season, Bailey quietly showed he also can be one of baseball's elite pitchers. "Over the last six weeks of the season, he was one of the best pitchers in the National League," says Jocketty. Believe it: Bailey was 6-1 with a major-league best 1.70 ERA in his nine starts after Aug. 23.
Last year, everything changed for Bailey when he asked Justin Lehr, his teammate at Triple-A Louisville, to show him how to throw a split-finger pitch. One afternoon before a game in May, Lehr taught him the grip (to move his index finger on the seam and his middle finger just off it) and Bailey soon started throwing it. "I still remember the first time he let one loose," says Triple-A Louisville manager Rick Sweet, who managed Bailey for three seasons. "I was like, 'What was that? Holy smoke!' It came out of nowhere." With his new weapon, Bailey was lights out to start the year in Louisville. "Game after game, he was the most dominant I'd ever seen him," says Sweet about Bailey's summer in Louisville, where he posted a 2.71 ERA and struck out 86 hitters over 89 2/3 innings.
This was the Homer Bailey that everyone expected to see three years ago. This was the La Grange legend that had a 41-4 record, a 0.98 ERA and a preposterous 536 strikeouts in 298 innings over his high school career. This is the pitcher that Cincinnati, looking for its first winning season since 2000 and its first postseason appearance since 1995, needs at the top of its rotation. "We're counting on a great season from him," says Harang. "He's changed his attitude and his approach to the game."
This past winter Bailey worked out in Austin, Tex., alongside Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday and tennis star Andy Roddick. But the offseason was memorable for other reasons: in October, a string snapped on his hunting bow, slicing his hand. (Seven stitches were required.) In December, he dropped an 84-pound weight on his left hand.
It was almost a disastrous winter, but now looking back, Bailey laughs. It's spring now, and a big season lies ahead. There are no billboards. There's no pressure. "He's finally comfortable," says Reds infielder Paul Janish says, "No more speed bumps."
- Nov 3, 2005
- 914
- 10
Fielder: 46hrs, 299avg, 141rbis
Braun: 32hrs, 320avg, 114rbis
Pujols: 47hrs, 327avg, 135rbis
Holliday: 24hrs, 313avg, 109rbis
Yes we do.
- Feb 6, 2007
- 76,434
- 36,425
You just kiddin though right? Come on, please tell me you just havin some fun.
- Nov 15, 2007
- 9,908
- 839
Pujols > Fielder
Holliday > Braun
Easy as that.
Holliday > Braun
Easy as that.
- Jan 13, 2008
- 2,326
- 10
Offense and defense.
- Nov 3, 2005
- 914
- 10
Originally Posted by CP1708
I can't wait for those Thursday afternoon games where I'm in here talkin to myself while you all sit there readin but not sayin anything. Those were fun last year.
Are we celebrating in that pic, or brawling? Maybe we should switch to a brawl photo instead.
Good idea CP!
I'll start
I just noticed his name is pacmagic and not pacman, ah well, pacman it is.
- Dec 17, 2003
- 9,530
- 91
Originally Posted by Wisconsin 4 Life
This is going to get ugly before Spring Training starts
- Oct 20, 2004
- 6,614
- 10
Originally Posted by Wisconsin 4 Life
Originally Posted by CP1708
I can't wait for those Thursday afternoon games where I'm in here talkin to myself while you all sit there readin but not sayin anything. Those were fun last year.
Are we celebrating in that pic, or brawling? Maybe we should switch to a brawl photo instead.
Good idea CP!
I'll start
I just noticed his name is pacmagic and not pacman, ah well, pacman it is.
- Nov 13, 2001
- 11,350
- 4,372
Originally Posted by FIRST B0RN
Originally Posted by Wisconsin 4 Life
@ JCH3 & I in the background like oh snaps!!
This is going to get ugly before Spring Training starts
- Jul 13, 2004
- 666
- 10
- Jun 27, 2005
- 3,251
- 70
best baseball thread on NT..
- Feb 21, 2005
- 11,980
- 18
Braun>>Holliday, c'mon son!
- Jun 27, 2005
- 3,251
- 70
I agree ... Braun>Holiday
but Zambrano> all .....
but Zambrano> all .....
- Jun 10, 2004
- 6,996
- 127
[h2]Aroldis Chapman to set own pace[/h2][h3]Contract, expectations won't determine arrival in majors -- his pitching will[/h3]
By Jerry Crasnick
ESPN.com
Archive
Hunter Martin/Getty ImagesAroldis Chapman doesn't seem fazed by the expectations or the criticisms as he begins his first spring training.
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Shortly after Cincinnati signed Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman to a six-year, $30.25 million contract in January, general manager Walt Jocketty began reading and hearing industry critiques of the transaction. And the baseball man in him wondered why others were so quick to detect flaws that the Reds never saw.
Even as scouts and anonymous executives gushed in unison over Chapman's live left arm and triple-digit fastball, many questioned his secondary pitches, maturity level and willingness to embrace instruction. Some said the Reds drastically overspent on a pitcher who's a long way from the majors and who might be better-suited to the bullpen than the rotation because of his inability to throw strikes consistently.
Six weeks later, with the benefit of hindsight, Jocketty is still puzzled by the disconnect.
"We keep reading about his maturity," Jocketty said. "But from everything we've seen, he's a very mature kid, and very intelligent and baseball-savvy. I wonder what people are basing [their comments] on, because it's not like the Cuban coaches are going to tell you that. Maybe it's coming from guys who couldn't get him signed."
At the moment, the Reds don't know for sure if Chapman will push for a spot on the Opening Day roster or begin this season with Triple-A Louisville, Double-A Carolina or even their high-A Lynchburg club.
http:///sports.espn.go.com/espn/gallery/enlargePhoto?id=4938151&story=4938104">http://sports.espn.go.com...938151&...idth=640,height=750,scrollbars=no,noresize'); return false;" href="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2010/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jerry&id=4938104#">[+] Enlarge
AP Photo/Mark DuncanDespite arriving at Reds camp not knowing anyone, Chapman, right, has settled in nicely with teammates like Edinson Volquez
According to Baseball-reference.com, more than 70 native Cubans have pitched in the majors. Will Chapman leave an enduring mark, a la Luis Tiant, Mike Cuellar, Camilo Pascual and the Hernandez brothers, or fall more on the Osvaldo Fernandez-Rene Arocha-Ariel Prieto end of the spectrum?
At 22, Chapman is a lanky, loose-limbed mystery that only time, patience and lots of innings can decipher. In the meantime, he's generating a buzz in the Cactus League as a sort of Stephen Strasburg West.
Chapman threw his third bullpen session of the spring Monday at the Reds' new Cactus League home, and a crowd of team officials, media members and assorted onlookers assembled to watch him pop catcher Ramon Hernandez's mitt with fastballs.
Shortly thereafter, Chapman sat down for a let's-get-this-out-of-the-way media scrum. Judging from the sentiments expressed by Jocketty, manager Dusty Baker and pitching coach Bryan Price, they're as interested as everybody else to determine precisely what they have.
The only certainty is that Chapman's timetable will be dictated solely by what he has to offer on the mound. The Reds will throw him into the mix with Matt Maloney, Justin Lehr, Travis Wood, Micah Owings, Mike Leake, Mike Lincoln and Kip Wells for the fifth spot in the rotation, and refrain from making a decision based on potential gate receipts or dollars invested.
"We've got to put the money behind us and realize he's one of us and make him feel as comfortable as possible," Baker said. "If you're better than him, you're gonna pitch. And if you're not better than him, he's gonna pitch. That's as simple as it gets."
It's hard to distill the emotion that Chapman must be feeling into convenient sound bites right now. Chapman defected during an international tournament in the Netherlands last July, reportedly leaving his hotel room in Rotterdam, jumping into a car and motoring toward a brand new life.
The Reds outbid the Oakland A's and several other clubs and signed Chapman to a complex deal that could increase in value depending on how quickly he arrives in the majors. The money, astounding as it is, can't obscure the inevitable withdrawal pangs: Chapman's family, wife and 8-month old daughter, Ashanti Brianna, are still in Cuba, and he must be content with phone updates and the prospect of a reunion down the road.
"It was a very hard decision," Chapman said through his interpreter. "But as they say in Cuba, you have to be brave and you have to make the move."
Chapman's facial features are reminiscent of a young Dwight Gooden, and he has a smile that can light up a room. He speaks almost no English and does interviews with the help of Tony Fossas, a former big leaguer and pitching coach for Cincinnati's Class A Dayton farm club.
By Jerry CrasnickESPN.com
Archive
Hunter Martin/Getty ImagesAroldis Chapman doesn't seem fazed by the expectations or the criticisms as he begins his first spring training.
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Shortly after Cincinnati signed Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman to a six-year, $30.25 million contract in January, general manager Walt Jocketty began reading and hearing industry critiques of the transaction. And the baseball man in him wondered why others were so quick to detect flaws that the Reds never saw.
Even as scouts and anonymous executives gushed in unison over Chapman's live left arm and triple-digit fastball, many questioned his secondary pitches, maturity level and willingness to embrace instruction. Some said the Reds drastically overspent on a pitcher who's a long way from the majors and who might be better-suited to the bullpen than the rotation because of his inability to throw strikes consistently.
Six weeks later, with the benefit of hindsight, Jocketty is still puzzled by the disconnect.
"We keep reading about his maturity," Jocketty said. "But from everything we've seen, he's a very mature kid, and very intelligent and baseball-savvy. I wonder what people are basing [their comments] on, because it's not like the Cuban coaches are going to tell you that. Maybe it's coming from guys who couldn't get him signed."
At the moment, the Reds don't know for sure if Chapman will push for a spot on the Opening Day roster or begin this season with Triple-A Louisville, Double-A Carolina or even their high-A Lynchburg club.
http:///sports.espn.go.com/espn/gallery/enlargePhoto?id=4938151&story=4938104">http://sports.espn.go.com...938151&...idth=640,height=750,scrollbars=no,noresize'); return false;" href="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2010/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jerry&id=4938104#">[+] Enlarge
AP Photo/Mark DuncanDespite arriving at Reds camp not knowing anyone, Chapman, right, has settled in nicely with teammates like Edinson Volquez
According to Baseball-reference.com, more than 70 native Cubans have pitched in the majors. Will Chapman leave an enduring mark, a la Luis Tiant, Mike Cuellar, Camilo Pascual and the Hernandez brothers, or fall more on the Osvaldo Fernandez-Rene Arocha-Ariel Prieto end of the spectrum?
At 22, Chapman is a lanky, loose-limbed mystery that only time, patience and lots of innings can decipher. In the meantime, he's generating a buzz in the Cactus League as a sort of Stephen Strasburg West.
Chapman threw his third bullpen session of the spring Monday at the Reds' new Cactus League home, and a crowd of team officials, media members and assorted onlookers assembled to watch him pop catcher Ramon Hernandez's mitt with fastballs.
Shortly thereafter, Chapman sat down for a let's-get-this-out-of-the-way media scrum. Judging from the sentiments expressed by Jocketty, manager Dusty Baker and pitching coach Bryan Price, they're as interested as everybody else to determine precisely what they have.
The only certainty is that Chapman's timetable will be dictated solely by what he has to offer on the mound. The Reds will throw him into the mix with Matt Maloney, Justin Lehr, Travis Wood, Micah Owings, Mike Leake, Mike Lincoln and Kip Wells for the fifth spot in the rotation, and refrain from making a decision based on potential gate receipts or dollars invested.
"We've got to put the money behind us and realize he's one of us and make him feel as comfortable as possible," Baker said. "If you're better than him, you're gonna pitch. And if you're not better than him, he's gonna pitch. That's as simple as it gets."
It's hard to distill the emotion that Chapman must be feeling into convenient sound bites right now. Chapman defected during an international tournament in the Netherlands last July, reportedly leaving his hotel room in Rotterdam, jumping into a car and motoring toward a brand new life.
The Reds outbid the Oakland A's and several other clubs and signed Chapman to a complex deal that could increase in value depending on how quickly he arrives in the majors. The money, astounding as it is, can't obscure the inevitable withdrawal pangs: Chapman's family, wife and 8-month old daughter, Ashanti Brianna, are still in Cuba, and he must be content with phone updates and the prospect of a reunion down the road.
"It was a very hard decision," Chapman said through his interpreter. "But as they say in Cuba, you have to be brave and you have to make the move."
Chapman's facial features are reminiscent of a young Dwight Gooden, and he has a smile that can light up a room. He speaks almost no English and does interviews with the help of Tony Fossas, a former big leaguer and pitching coach for Cincinnati's Class A Dayton farm club.
“
We've got to put the money behind us and realize he's one of us and make him feel as comfortable as possible. If you're better than him, you're gonna pitch. And if you're not better than him, he's gonna pitch. That's as simple as it gets.
- Dec 9, 2001
- 10,373
- 3,710
The last reply to this clown till he gets some type of hardware to put in that case................PEACE!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Feb 9, 2009
- 9,626
- 787
Never seen that one
- Nov 13, 2001
- 11,350
- 4,372
Yo, what did that baby do to deserve ridicule? It didn't ask to be born that way.
- Dec 9, 2001
- 10,373
- 3,710
shut Up you sensitive wuss. The laughing baby is funny as hell.....the other things are the cherry on top. (Pun intended). But those are just strawberries....they go away.....quit being soo damn soft.
- Dec 17, 2003
- 9,530
- 91
pacmagic2002 isn't playing around
- Mar 20, 2005
- 5,243
- 4,886
Yes! Glad this thread is back....
So Z loses 12-15 lbs, Soto lost 40 lbs (http://www.chicagotribune...100216,0,5002373.story). Looks like Carlos Silva will be the only one eating at the buffets this season.
Cubs tickets went on sale last Friday. My bracelet got called (within 1,500 of # called) so I went in...
Tickets in hand, FTW!
So Z loses 12-15 lbs, Soto lost 40 lbs (http://www.chicagotribune...100216,0,5002373.story). Looks like Carlos Silva will be the only one eating at the buffets this season.
Cubs tickets went on sale last Friday. My bracelet got called (within 1,500 of # called) so I went in...
Tickets in hand, FTW!
