The Briefing Room

General Category => Sports/Entertainment/MSM/Social Media => Topic started by: EasyAce on January 01, 2018, 09:08:14 pm

Title: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on January 01, 2018, 09:08:14 pm
(https://scontent.flas1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/26055882_10155557953222912_2367429714045814069_n.jpg?oh=37d879caa33d6382983ba4a5029af1bd&oe=5AB9021A)

Spring training is only 11 days away!! (https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180213T00&p0=853&msg=Countdown+to+Pitchers+and+Catchers+report+to+Spring+Training&font=cursive)                                             Spring training is only 11 days away!! (https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180213T00&p0=853&msg=Countdown+to+Pitchers+and+Catchers+report+to+Spring+Training&font=cursive)                               Spring training is only 11 days away!! (https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180213T00&p0=853&msg=Countdown+to+Pitchers+and+Catchers+report+to+Spring+Training&font=cursive)                               Spring training is only 11 days away!! (https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180213T00&p0=853&msg=Countdown+to+Pitchers+and+Catchers+report+to+Spring+Training&font=cursive)                               Spring training is only 11 days away!! (https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180213T00&p0=853&msg=Countdown+to+Pitchers+and+Catchers+report+to+Spring+Training&font=cursive)                               Spring training is only 11 days away!! (https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180213T00&p0=853&msg=Countdown+to+Pitchers+and+Catchers+report+to+Spring+Training&font=cursive)                               Spring training is only 11 days away!! (https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180213T00&p0=853&msg=Countdown+to+Pitchers+and+Catchers+report+to+Spring+Training&font=cursive)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on January 01, 2018, 09:13:33 pm
Can't wait!
Pitcher and catchers for the Braves report in 44 days.

(https://media.giphy.com/media/o3Ept0oH7zumY/giphy.gif)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Machiavelli on January 11, 2018, 06:54:35 pm
It’s an empty Hall without Bonds and Clemens

Mark Whicker
Orange County Register
January 11, 2018

Quote
... Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are in their sixth year of eligibility and, even though they creep toward 75 percent, they are hardly guaranteed to get there.

If they don’t, their names will go to a Historical Overview Committee, which compiles a list of 10 for the Veterans Committee, which is more likely to sign a peace treaty with North Korea than to vote for Bonds or Clemens.

Hall of Famer Joe Morgan urged the writers to bar Bonds, Clemens and anyone else associated with performance-enhancers. All he did was reinforce the suspicion that Hall of Famers would prefer to close and lock the door behind them.

Only those who are shocked to hear a telemarketer on the other end of a landline would doubt Bonds and Clemens used PEDs. As “Ball Four” author Jim Bouton once said, players would gladly take a pill that would guarantee 20-win seasons even it it cost them five years of life. If steroids were around in the 1960s, Bouton said, he and his colleagues would have been the first in line...

Read the whole thing. (https://www.ocregister.com/2018/01/11/whicker-its-an-empty-hall-without-bonds-and-clemens/)

@EasyAce
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on January 11, 2018, 07:27:01 pm
I am looking forward to this year.

There's a chance the Astros could still deal for Gerrit Cole.
It's not over, yet.


Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on January 11, 2018, 07:38:27 pm
It’s an empty Hall without Bonds and Clemens

Mark Whicker
Orange County Register
January 11, 2018

Read the whole thing. (https://www.ocregister.com/2018/01/11/whicker-its-an-empty-hall-without-bonds-and-clemens/)

@EasyAce
@Machiavelli
I wrote about that issue viz Joe Morgan's letter in November. (http://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,292401.0.html)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Machiavelli on January 11, 2018, 08:11:35 pm
@EasyAce

I forgot. :(
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on January 11, 2018, 08:17:22 pm
@EasyAce

I forgot. :(
@Machiavelli
You are forgiven. Say three Hail Koufaxes and perform one station of the Cronin. ;)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on January 11, 2018, 11:27:51 pm
(https://scontent.flas1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/26055882_10155557953222912_2367429714045814069_n.jpg?oh=37d879caa33d6382983ba4a5029af1bd&oe=5AB9021A)

Spring training is only 32 days away!! (https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180213T00&p0=853&msg=Countdown+to+Pitchers+and+Catchers+report+to+Spring+Training&font=cursive)                                             Spring training is only 32 days away!! (https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180213T00&p0=853&msg=Countdown+to+Pitchers+and+Catchers+report+to+Spring+Training&font=cursive)                               Spring training is only 32 days away!! (https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180213T00&p0=853&msg=Countdown+to+Pitchers+and+Catchers+report+to+Spring+Training&font=cursive)                               Spring training is only 32 days away!! (https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180213T00&p0=853&msg=Countdown+to+Pitchers+and+Catchers+report+to+Spring+Training&font=cursive)                               Spring training is only 32 days away!! (https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180213T00&p0=853&msg=Countdown+to+Pitchers+and+Catchers+report+to+Spring+Training&font=cursive)                               Spring training is only 32 days away!! (https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180213T00&p0=853&msg=Countdown+to+Pitchers+and+Catchers+report+to+Spring+Training&font=cursive)                               Spring training is only 32 days away!! (https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180213T00&p0=853&msg=Countdown+to+Pitchers+and+Catchers+report+to+Spring+Training&font=cursive)

Bring it on, Easy!  Wheeee!

I have a list of our players' club from last year if you did not save yours. But then you know how to do that.  Mine is on paper.  Awwww, geez!

Thank you!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on January 11, 2018, 11:35:05 pm
Bring it on, Easy!  Wheeee!

I have a list of our players' club from last year if you did not save yours. But then you know how to do that.  Mine is on paper.  Awwww, geez!

Thank you!
@Slip18
I still have the ping list!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on January 11, 2018, 11:35:20 pm
Baseball is back! ⚾⚾ ⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾ Ladies first, remember?

@Polly Ticks  @musiclady @flowers  @skeeter @truth_seeker  @GrouchoTex  @catfish1957 @Bigun  @DCPatriot  @Machiavelli @TomSea
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on January 11, 2018, 11:36:50 pm
@Slip18
I still have the ping list!

Sorry for pushing ahead of the line!  I am just so excited!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on January 11, 2018, 11:47:46 pm
@Machiavelli  Ewwwww!

And Pete Rose.  What an idiot!  I have nothing in my very large collection with anything of Pete Rose, Roger Clemens nor Barry Bonds.

Baseball is a good game.  Broke my nephew/Godson's heart when he found out Bonds was juicing. What do you say to the kids?

Roger Clemens has always been a jerk in my little black book.

Seeing Pete Rose announcing games outside of a stadium was just too stupid.

Two jerks and an idiot.  Arrrrggggh!

Now, let's play ball!  Wheeee!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on January 11, 2018, 11:51:56 pm
@Machiavelli
You are forgiven. Say three Hail Koufaxes and perform one station of the Cronin. ;)

Perfect, Easy! LOL!

You forgot one Act of Concession...
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on January 12, 2018, 12:43:06 am
@EasyAce

I would like to put in my very own prediction for this year's World Series now.  Is that okay?

Diamondbacks and the Angels.

Diamondbacks are ready.  We have a more "together" team.  If it had not been for the very outstanding Dodgers last season, we would have been in like Flynn.  It also appears that we have a new and no stat pitcher who is 33 years old from Japan.  His name is Yoshihasa Hirano, No. 66.  Wonder which scout found him?

And the Angels are on my wish list.  Trout really deserves a ring. What a player!  Last year he was out with injuries for a large part of the season.  He is back this year.

Okay.  Anyone else brave (LOL!) enough to put out their list?

Do I copy and paste the ping list, Easy?  I am better than last year at this stuff, but not quite "there" yet.

@Polly Ticks  @musiclady @flowers  @skeeter @truth_seeker  @GrouchoTex  @catfish1957 @Bigun  @DCPatriot  @Machiavelli @TomSea

I don't believe it!  It worked!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on January 12, 2018, 03:24:32 am
I will say
Twins v Astros in the AL
Nationals v Dodgers NL
Astros 4-3 in series
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on January 12, 2018, 03:27:40 am
@EasyAce

Checkin' in, Boss....
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on January 12, 2018, 04:57:26 am
@EasyAce

Checkin' in, Boss....
@Cyber Liberty
All checked in. First row center. Mrs. Liberty awaits.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on January 13, 2018, 08:47:24 pm
Latest news on contract signings . . .

Braves reach $3.4 million deal with reliever Arodys Vizcaino; two others get deals (http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/22067730/arodys-vizcaino-avoids-arbitration-atlanta-braves-gets-34-million-deal)
Mets reach deals with Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey, five more (http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/22067857/new-york-mets-reach-deals-jacob-degrom-noah-syndergaard-matt-harvey-5-more)
Alex Wood gets $6 million from Dodgers; Yasmani Grandal gets $7.9 million (http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/22067727/alex-wood-gets-6-million-los-angeles-dodgers-yasmani-grandal-79-million)
Twins reach deals with Eduardo Escobar and 4 others (http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/22066811/eduardo-escobar-4-others-reach-deals-minnesota-twins)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on January 14, 2018, 12:24:05 am
A big trade . . .

Pirates RHP Gerrit Cole traded to Astros in 5-player deal (http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/22085338/pittsburgh-pirates-trade-rhp-gerrit-cole-houston-astros)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on January 14, 2018, 12:26:17 am
Report: Cubs, Kris Bryant Agree to Record $10.85 Million Deal for First-Year Arbitration Player (https://www.yahoo.com/sports/report-cubs-kris-bryant-agree-214421614.html)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on January 14, 2018, 12:29:18 am
Four players sign one-year contracts with Brewers, avoiding arbitration (https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/84f156f3-ea9c-3d2d-92db-e3feb01ba684/four-players-sign-one-year.html)
Yankees settle with 6, on track to get under tax threshold (https://www.yahoo.com/sports/yankees-settle-6-track-under-tax-threshold-223219849--mlb.html)
Bradley, Red Sox avoid arbitration with 1-year, $6.1M deal (https://www.yahoo.com/sports/report-bradley-red-sox-avoid-192543176.html)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on January 15, 2018, 02:40:26 pm
A big trade . . .

Pirates RHP Gerrit Cole traded to Astros in 5-player deal (http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/22085338/pittsburgh-pirates-trade-rhp-gerrit-cole-houston-astros)

Yep, it happened.
Now, if they can solve their closer issue....
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on January 15, 2018, 06:18:45 pm
Hall of Fame umpire Doug Harvey dies at 87 (https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/hall-of-fame-umpire-doug-harvey-passes-away-at-87/)

Players called him God. Don Sutton once tried to sue him and the National League for "depriving him of his livelihood" after Harvey
ejected him for throwing doctored baseballs. (The league's then-milquetoast president Chub Feeney never imposed the mandatory
ten-game suspension.)

I remember Harvey calling balls and strikes for what proved Sandy Koufax's final major league win---on the final day of the regular
1966 season, when Koufax was forced to pitch the nightcap of a doubleheader on short rest (two days') to clinch a pennant
after Don Drysdale fell in the hole in the first game and was lifted after two innings. Koufax prevailed---even though he had to be
stretched in the clubhouse to get a slipped disc put back into place (one of the men who stretched him: former Dodger Don Newcombe,
who was no shrinking violet) midway through---and Harvey would remember the game this way: He threw seven and two thirds
innings with nothing but a fastball. And they knew what was coming. And he still won the game for them, and the pennant. It was
the greatest exhibition of baseball I've ever seen in my life
.

In one of Harvey's earliest games, Stan Musial was batting when Harvey called a strike three anticipating the pitch's arrival---but it
brokie wide of the plate. Musial didn't flinch. He simply called for his glove from a bat boy and, without turning, told Harvey, "Young
fellow, I don't know which league you came from, but we use the same plate. It's 17 inches wide." Said Harvey remembering that
incident, "That's when I realised why they called him Stan the Man, and I learned not to anticipate the call. That's my gift to baseball
. . . Before, the umpires were always told, 'Be quick! Be decisive!'"

RIP Mr. Harvey.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Machiavelli on January 22, 2018, 09:18:37 pm
Meet the 20-year-old future star who beat out Shohei Ohtani as MLB's top prospect

Quote
...It’s speedy Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna, a 20-year-old who hit .344 in 54 Triple-A games last season. If you already knew Acuna’s name, then you’re an astute baseball fan (or fantasy baseball player already looking for the next great youngster). Acuna was signed by the Braves when he was a 16-year-old in Venezuela...

Full article (https://sports.yahoo.com/meet-20-year-old-future-star-beat-shohei-ohtani-mlbs-top-prospect-193318750.html)

Baseball Reference (https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=acuna-002ron)

MILB.com (http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=660670#/career/R/hitting/2017/ALL)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on January 23, 2018, 12:20:07 pm
I will say
Twins v Astros in the AL
Nationals v Dodgers NL
Astros 4-3 in series

Yep....We got Cole....without giving up our best prospects.....   Luhnow you magnificent bastard!!!!!!

(http://images.joyfuljerseys.ru/images/Anne/17/11.22/Houston-Astros-2017-World-Series-Champions-Patch.jpg)

And Yes.... I made it big on purpose!!!!!!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on February 23, 2018, 08:29:35 pm
Happiness is watching a Spring Training ballgame on a Friday afternoon in February!!

(https://media.giphy.com/media/o3Ept0oH7zumY/giphy.gif)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on February 23, 2018, 08:39:24 pm
Happiness is watching a Spring Training ballgame on a Friday afternoon in February!!

(https://media.giphy.com/media/o3Ept0oH7zumY/giphy.gif)

Happiness is seeing you back in your Atlanta cap!   :cool:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on February 23, 2018, 08:51:37 pm
Happiness is seeing you back in your Atlanta cap!   :cool:

I have been restlessly waiting for today so I could put it back on! 

Also my Braves earrings and hair scrunchie, although my avatar doesn't reflect that.  Hmmmm ... maybe I need to work on that a bit one of these days.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on February 23, 2018, 09:38:58 pm
I have been restlessly waiting for today so I could put it back on! 

Also my Braves earrings and hair scrunchie, although my avatar doesn't reflect that.  Hmmmm ... maybe I need to work on that a bit one of these days.

I'll have to make sure Mrs. Liberty gets in here to see it....

She's not a big fan of Spring Training (the prices in the Cactus League are way too high), so I don't expect much involvement from my better half until March 29.  We're leading off against the Rockies (Who are beating us right now at the top of the 5).
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on February 26, 2018, 06:27:35 pm
Yep....We got Cole....without giving up our best prospects.....   Luhnow you magnificent bastard!!!!!!

(http://images.joyfuljerseys.ru/images/Anne/17/11.22/Houston-Astros-2017-World-Series-Champions-Patch.jpg)

And Yes.... I made it big on purpose!!!!!!

It has only been 3 days into the spring training schedule, but it looks like the Astros came in pretty well prepared already.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Machiavelli on March 03, 2018, 05:04:28 pm
X-ray of baseballs reveals possible cause of home run surge (https://sports.yahoo.com/x-rays-baseballs-reveal-possible-cause-home-run-surge-211752046.html)

@EasyAce
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Machiavelli on March 03, 2018, 05:06:05 pm
This pitch from Shohei Ohtani made the Internet lose its mind (https://sports.yahoo.com/pitch-shohei-ohtani-made-internet-lose-mind-000322400.html)

@EasyAce
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on March 03, 2018, 05:55:35 pm
This pitch from Shohei Ohtani made the Internet lose its mind (https://sports.yahoo.com/pitch-shohei-ohtani-made-internet-lose-mind-000322400.html)

@EasyAce
@Machiavelli
I saw that pitch on television. If that's any real indication he throws one of the hardest curve balls in the business. That pitch
looked like a fighter pilot rising just a little before diving down to shoot down his enemy.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on March 03, 2018, 05:59:58 pm
X-ray of baseballs reveals possible cause of home run surge (https://sports.yahoo.com/x-rays-baseballs-reveal-possible-cause-home-run-surge-211752046.html)

@EasyAce
@Machiavelli
There'd been suspicions of the core being a little different in the balls since about early 2015. But I think the authors of the original
article have another point---when you have a group of hitters who are being taught to swing up, the chances of hitting one out increase.
I mean, we went how many years before you heard terms like "launch angle" in a discussion of baseball? Of course, with quite
a few hitters the makeup of the ball doesn't mean all that much---they could hit rice pudding over the left field fence.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on March 05, 2018, 02:40:22 pm
@Machiavelli
There'd been suspicions of the core being a little different in the balls since about early 2015. But I think the authors of the original
article have another point---when you have a group of hitters who are being taught to swing up, the chances of hitting one out increase.
I mean, we went how many years before you heard terms like "launch angle" in a discussion of baseball? Of course, with quite
a few hitters the makeup of the ball doesn't mean all that much---they could hit rice pudding over the left field fence.

@EasyAce

The "core" of the baseball has changed???  What?  So are the baseballs getting juiced?

I love this game.  I hope it does not get ruined because home runs do bring in more crowds, ergo, more dollars.


 8888crybaby
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on March 05, 2018, 03:03:24 pm
@EasyAce

The "core" of the baseball has changed???  What?  So are the baseballs getting juiced?

I love this game.  I hope it does not get ruined because home runs do bring in more crowds, ergo, more dollars.
 (http://The "core" of the baseball has changed???  What?  So are the baseballs getting juiced?

I love this game.  I hope it does not get ruined because home runs do bring in more crowds, ergo, more dollars.)

 8888crybaby

Interesting take on what I feel is a disturbing development in the game.   With higher technical abilities, comes the possibility of game manipulation.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/new-study-links-changes-to-the-baseball-to-the-record-number-of-home-runs-in-mlb/ (https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/new-study-links-changes-to-the-baseball-to-the-record-number-of-home-runs-in-mlb/)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on March 05, 2018, 06:21:41 pm
Interesting take on what I feel is a disturbing development in the game.   With higher technical abilities, comes the possibility of game manipulation.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/new-study-links-changes-to-the-baseball-to-the-record-number-of-home-runs-in-mlb/ (https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/new-study-links-changes-to-the-baseball-to-the-record-number-of-home-runs-in-mlb/)
That's what they thought, too, when the original dead-ball era ended in favour of a) baseballs whose yarns around the core
were wound a little tighter and Babe Ruth and company began hitting them for regular distance; and, b) the new rule requiring
fresh, clean baseballs in play at all times, in the wake of the tragedy involving Indians shortstop Ray Chapman and Yankees
pitcher Carl Mays.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on March 05, 2018, 06:26:49 pm
@EasyAce

The "core" of the baseball has changed???  What?  So are the baseballs getting juiced?

I love this game.  I hope it does not get ruined because home runs do bring in more crowds, ergo, more dollars.


 8888crybaby
@Slip18
Baseball has experimented with the balls themselves for, oh, almost a hundred years. As also with bats, gloves,
and other equipment. Who'd have thought when we were kids that you'd see catchers wearing specialised
mask helmets? Or gloves large enough to catch volleyballs, almost? And assorted and sundry game purists talk
in ways that suggest that, if they had their way, we'd be back to the era when a baseball had as much life as
a corpse, a fielder might as well have worn an oven mitt to play his position, a catcher had nothing more than
the next best thing to a piece of fence in front of his face, and batting statistics would be inflated because by
cracky nobody will come to a night game . . . ;)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on March 05, 2018, 07:29:23 pm
@Slip18
Baseball has experimented with the balls themselves for, oh, almost a hundred years. As also with bats, gloves,
and other equipment. Who'd have thought when we were kids that you'd see catchers wearing specialised
mask helmets? Or gloves large enough to catch volleyballs, almost? And assorted and sundry game purists talk
in ways that suggest that, if they had their way, we'd be back to the era when a baseball had as much life as
a corpse, a fielder might as well have worn an oven mitt to play his position, a catcher had nothing more than
the next best thing to a piece of fence in front of his face, and batting statistics would be inflated because by
cracky nobody will come to a night game . . . ;)

Or they'd get clever and try to encourage more hits by shaving down the pitcher's mound and shortening the field?

(That last bit, to create the question, "Howcome hardly anybody hits triples anymore?" "Because the distance to hit a triple would now go over the fence.")
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on March 05, 2018, 08:03:19 pm
Or they'd get clever and try to encourage more hits by shaving down the pitcher's mound and shortening the field?

(That last bit, to create the question, "Howcome hardly anybody hits triples anymore?" "Because the distance to hit a triple would now go over the fence.")
@Cyber Liberty
Depends on the ballpark. Some parks have deep enough power alleys to make triples possible, but it's not like the original Yankee Stadium with its
left-center field and center field depth. Babe Ruth could pick up triples there hitting the opposite way. (He would have had to hit the other way to pick
up triples, since he ran like a dump truck with a flat tire but the distances to those regions meant even he could pick up a few triples.) The down side
---it probably cost Joe DiMaggio enough home runs to keep him from hitting at least 400 in his career, that and DiMaggio's stubborn insistence that
the only "legitimate" hitting was pull hitting.

The Polo Grounds was even crazier. You needed to call a cab to reach its center field and left- and right-center field alleys:

(http://www.thisgreatgame.com/pg-aerial.jpg)

Straightaway center field was 483 feet including a patch of it that ran under the elevated building that housed the home and visiting clubhouses and
the Giants' (and for two years the Mets') park offices. The bisected bleachers sat 463 feet from the plate. (Now does anyone understand what
was so amazing about Willie Mays's catch in front of the bleachers, on the track, in Game One of the 1954 World Series?) The foul lines went 279 feet
to left and 258 feet to right.

Guess who played his first three Yankee seasons with the Polo Grounds as his home park? Babe Ruth. The Yankees played in the Polo Grounds as
tenants until John McGraw decided he was simply fed up with the arrangement and ordered the Yankees to find another place to play as soon as
possible---which they did, Yankee Stadium opening for the 1923 season. The Polo Grounds fitted Ruth's lefthanded power when the Yankees became
tenants there in 1920; the Yankees built Yankee Stadium to favour it. I'm convinced based on all available evidence that no matter what else you
might have read the real reason why Babe Ruth went from hitting 29 home runs in 1919 to 54 in 1920 is that he moved into a park (the Polo Grounds)
that was just too delicious for him---he didn't have to give a savage yank to pull balls to right field, and he didn't have to be intimidated by that
deep spread from left to right center. If he could hit 29 home runs with Fenway Park as his home park in 1919, it had to be cake for him to almost
double that number with the Polo Grounds as his home park.

But a funny thing happened to him on the way to Yankee Stadium: he hit 59 home runs in his second season with the Polo Grounds as his home park,
but fell back to 35 in his final year playing at home in the Polo Grounds. When the Yankees moved into Yankee Stadium, Ruth's home run totals for
his first four seasons in Yankee Stadium were: 41, 46, 25, 47. Except for 1927 (60) and 1928 (54), Ruth never again hit more than 49 home runs
in any season.

Suppose Ruth had gotten to play in the night ball era? I've seen several analyses of the prospect and it boils down to one thing: If he'd played in the
night ball era, Ruth would probably have finished with a slash line comparable to that of Willie Mays: .305 batting average; .384 on-base percentage;
.557 slugging percentage. He also might have hit about 600 home runs . . . but then, if you restore the two years Willie Mays lost to military service
in the early 1950s, Mays would probably have retired with 700+ home runs. Concurrently, if Ralph Kiner had gotten to play strictly in the day-ball-only
era, his own batting average might have spiked to something approximating Willie Mays's average . . . and he might have had a .400+ on-base
percentage. (Kiner's OBP when he retired was actually a little higher than Mays's: .398. And you can imagine how many more home runs he might
have hit than the 369 he did hit in a back injury-abbreviated ten-season career. Kiner's back probably kept him out of the 500 home run club, too.)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on March 06, 2018, 12:49:51 pm
@Slip18
Baseball has experimented with the balls themselves for, oh, almost a hundred years. As also with bats, gloves,
and other equipment. Who'd have thought when we were kids that you'd see catchers wearing specialised
mask helmets? Or gloves large enough to catch volleyballs, almost? And assorted and sundry game purists talk
in ways that suggest that, if they had their way, we'd be back to the era when a baseball had as much life as
a corpse, a fielder might as well have worn an oven mitt to play his position, a catcher had nothing more than
the next best thing to a piece of fence in front of his face, and batting statistics would be inflated because by
cracky nobody will come to a night game . . . ;)

Wrigley Field comes to mind.  Oh, I also thought that was just terrible.  LOL!

We are in another new, and, hopefully, improved era.  I get a bit emotional about baseball.

I do not want to see anyone get injured.  That is why I don't watch Spring Training.  There are a few (?) more injuries on the field.  It is heartbreaking for me.

You are correct, as usual!

 888high58888

Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on March 06, 2018, 01:11:24 pm
Happiness is watching a Spring Training ballgame on a Friday afternoon in February!!

(https://media.giphy.com/media/o3Ept0oH7zumY/giphy.gif)

I love your Yogi Berra quote!  Wheeee!

 888high58888
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on March 06, 2018, 07:00:25 pm
I love your Yogi Berra quote!  Wheeee!

 888high58888

Me, too!! 
 :beer:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on March 06, 2018, 07:03:15 pm
My personal favourite Yogi Berra quote is still the crack he made to a group of American League pitchers,
huddling before an All-Star Game, discussing ways to pitch to Stan Musial. "Forget it," Yogi said. "You guys
are trying to figure out in fifteen minutes what nobody's figured out in fifteen years."
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on March 06, 2018, 07:04:58 pm
My personal favourite Yogi Berra quote is still the crack he made to a group of American League pitchers,
huddling before an All-Star Game, discussing ways to pitch to Stan Musial. "Forget it," Yogi said. "You guys
are trying to figure out in fifteen minutes what nobody's figured out in fifteen years."

Yes, that was a good one, too!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on March 13, 2018, 01:51:29 pm
Quote
Baseball is a team game -- and an unpredictable one, at that. So the idea that a single player can swing a team's fortune one way or another can be faulty. Last year, the Angels were a game under .500 (19-20) in the six weeks Mike Trout was on the disabled list and a game under .500 while he was on the active roster (61-62). The Dodgers are an incredible 74-25 over the past two seasons when Clayton Kershaw has been on the shelf with back issues.

Everything written below, then, is not to be treated as gospel (and if it were treated as gospel, that would be an unusual religion).

Still, there's no denying that there are certain players whose long-term absence or major performance decline would have their clubs scrambling, if not stumbling. With a tip of the cap to the New York Post's Ken Davidoff, whose recent column on Noah Syndergaard as the Mets' linchpin inspired this piece, here are my picks for the most indispensable player on each team for 2018.

Most indispensable players for all 30 teams in 2018 (https://www.mlb.com/news/most-indispensable-players-for-30-mlb-teams/c-268428780)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on March 13, 2018, 04:13:54 pm
Most indispensable players for all 30 teams in 2018 (https://www.mlb.com/news/most-indispensable-players-for-30-mlb-teams/c-268428780)
@Polly Ticks
This is a good piece. Very smart observations. And it is going to be very interesting to see what the Rays
do with a four-man starting rotation. Not to mention . . .

* How much the Mets really did re-tool their team medical thinking (they overhauled their entire medical staff, just about)
and whether they can keep the team's key men on the field or the mound.

* How much Freddie Freeman might have left after all these seasons trying to carry a team that's been rebuilding longer
than they care to admit.

* Whether Felix Hernandez's 2017 was an aberration or the beginning of his downslope.

* Whether the Orioles can keep Manny Machado healthy enough not to wreck his trade value. (Unless the impossible happens
and they decide he's the guy to rebuild around, the worst kept secret in baseball this year is likely to be Machado on the
non-waiver trade deadline market as he finishes his walk year.)

* Whether the Nationals, who have some money to burn, will hammer out an extension with Bryce Harper. And, whether
they can keep him healthy for a full season.

* Whether the Indians find a couple of sound bullpen pieces to shore it up after losing a couple of key parts to free agency,
and thus whether they overwork and possibly burn out an Andrew Miller who can already do enough different things as it is.

* Whether Madison Bumgarner comes back to full form for the Giants, who still seem to think they have one more run in
them as they are now.

* Whether the Cubs really did get to and help correct the flaw that got Yu Darvish murdered in Game Seven---pitch tipping.
If they've fixed it, Darvish is big for them with Jake Arrieta gone . . . and bad news for the rest of the NL Central.

* Whether an aging Adam Wainwright has enough left in the tank for the Cardinals.

* Whether Arrieta's veteran leadership with the Phillies' pitching staff will be enough to compensate for his apparent hitting
the downslope . . . or whether he has a surprise in store in his tank.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on March 13, 2018, 04:42:25 pm
I could have done the D-Backs entry in that article while blindfolded and swinging a stick at a Papier-mâché donkey hanging from the ceiling.  It's been the same for the last 2-3 Seasons.   :shrug:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: al_c on March 13, 2018, 05:07:38 pm
Hoping for a better showing from my Rangers this year. But the Stros are gonna be tough to beat.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on March 13, 2018, 05:14:56 pm
I could have done the D-Backs entry in that article while blindfolded and swinging a stick at a Papier-mâché donkey hanging from the ceiling.  It's been the same for the last 2-3 Seasons.   :shrug:
My big question involving Paul Goldschmidt might actually be how long he remains a Diamondback. There've been trade rumours
around him in the past, and if the Snakes don't make a good showing this season after getting shoved out early last postseason,
who knows if they decide to push the reset button and cash Goldschmidt in for a small haul of prospects or younger major leaguers?
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on March 13, 2018, 05:23:27 pm
My big question involving Paul Goldschmidt might actually be how long he remains a Diamondback. There've been trade rumours
around him in the past, and if the Snakes don't make a good showing this season after getting shoved out early last postseason,
who knows if they decide to push the reset button and cash Goldschmidt in for a small haul of prospects or younger major leaguers?

A good question that gets asked around the Cyber household (heck around the whole town!) every time there's a trade deadline.  As long as he has a solid hit we really can't afford to lose him.  I imagine if he leaves, it will be his choice after a bidding war.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on March 13, 2018, 06:21:36 pm
Hoping for a better showing from my Rangers this year. But the Stros are gonna be tough to beat.

Shhhhhh.....  @EasyAce  wrote us off with minimal chances last year.  Maybe he will do us a favor and do the same this year.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on March 13, 2018, 07:03:25 pm
Shhhhhh.....  @EasyAce  wrote us off with minimal chances last year.  Maybe he will do us a favor and do the same this year.
Hey, I admitted I was wrong.

Personally, I think the Astros are the team to beat in the AL West this year, too. But I think a couple of AL West teams could
make a run at them, even if those runs might not hold up all the way to the end.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on March 14, 2018, 02:45:53 pm
Quote
On Saturday, Apr. 21, and Sunday, Apr. 22, one signature concession item from every Major League team will come together for an eating extravaganza near Bryant Park in Manhattan.
MLB FoodFest will bring all of the Majors' wildest ballpark concoctions under one roof (https://www.mlb.com/cut4/mlb-foodfest-will-bring-all-of-the-majors-wildest-ballpark-concoctions-under-one-roof/c-268512004?partnerId=ed-12349546-1059358053)

I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing that this event is not closer to home ...
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on March 14, 2018, 04:22:48 pm
MLB FoodFest will bring all of the Majors' wildest ballpark concoctions under one roof (https://www.mlb.com/cut4/mlb-foodfest-will-bring-all-of-the-majors-wildest-ballpark-concoctions-under-one-roof/c-268512004?partnerId=ed-12349546-1059358053)

I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing that this event is not closer to home ...
@Polly Ticks
I got to see a game at Camden Yards in 1998 while traveling around the United States. I took a tour of the ballpark during the afternoon, then copped
a pair of tickets to see the Orioles play the Red Sox that night. My seats were in the middle of the field level boxes near third base. The concession stand
behind my section had potato knishes to die for---they were the next best thing to the knishes I ate when I was growing up in Long Beach, on Long
Island. If they still have that stand there and send some knishes to that foodfest, I might have to be glad I can't be there, because I could have had
three easy!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on March 14, 2018, 04:32:57 pm
@Polly Ticks
I got to see a game at Camden Yards in 1998 while traveling around the United States. I took a tour of the ballpark during the afternoon, then copped a pair of tickets to see the Orioles play the Red Sox that night. My seats were in the middle of the field level boxes near third base. The concession stand behind my section had potato knishes to die for---they were the next best thing to the knishes I ate when I was growing up in Long Beach, on Long Island. If they still have that stand there and send some knishes to that foodfest, I might have to be glad I can't be there, because I could have had three easy!

Oh, man, that sounds delicious!

No knishes on the menu for the Food Festival, but it looks like there are plenty of other fantastic options:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on March 14, 2018, 05:36:18 pm
Oh, man, that sounds delicious!

No knishes on the menu for the Food Festival, but it looks like there are plenty of other fantastic options:
They should have thrown in Dodger Dogs!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on March 14, 2018, 05:48:52 pm
They should have thrown in Dodger Dogs!

Agreed.  I'm having a difficult time understanding the lack of DDs.  Maybe they were avoiding presenting 30 different kinds of hot dogs?
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on March 14, 2018, 06:16:38 pm


Personally, I think the Astros are the team to beat in the AL West this year, too. But I think a couple of AL West teams could
make a run at them, even if those runs might not hold up all the way to the end.

With the addition of Gerrit Cole, we have an awesome 3 headed tandem of Verlander-Keuchel-Cole.  The back end of the roatation aren't slouches either.   Add the fact we really didn't lose any offense..........    I think we blow the ALW away prettily easily this year. (exception injuries).

I am less optimistic of winning it all again though.  I think we all realize how tough it is to repeat....   15 -20 years or so, if I recall.

A 85 game winning wild card team that is hot is about the most dangerous animal out there in October.

Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on March 14, 2018, 06:41:24 pm
Agreed.  I'm having a difficult time understanding the lack of DDs.  Maybe they were avoiding presenting 30 different kinds of hot dogs?
With all the stuff they're bringing to those tables they couldn't swing at least Dodger Dogs or Fenway Franks? OY!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on March 14, 2018, 07:04:29 pm
With all the stuff they're bringing to those tables they couldn't swing at least Dodger Dogs or Fenway Franks? OY!

Or a Philly cheesesteak.   :shrug:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on March 14, 2018, 07:20:10 pm
Or a Philly cheesesteak.   :shrug:
Jeez, you can get a Philly cheesesteak anywhere. ;)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on March 14, 2018, 07:41:56 pm
Jeez, you can get a Philly cheesesteak anywhere. ;)

Yeah, but "Wit Da Whizz?"
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on March 14, 2018, 07:43:00 pm
They should have thrown in Dodger Dogs!

I can almost here Vin Scully now, " Faaarma John"
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on March 14, 2018, 07:59:56 pm
Jeez, you can get a Philly cheesesteak anywhere. ;)

According to my Pennsylvanian college roommate, those don't count.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on March 14, 2018, 08:21:39 pm
According to my Pennsylvanian college roommate, those don't count.

They don't.  It's like calling a taco from Taco Bell a "taco."  No it isn't, it's an insult to the food.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Machiavelli on March 20, 2018, 06:48:39 pm
A Curveball From the New Tax Law: It Makes Baseball Trades Harder

Jim Tankersley
The New York Times
March 19, 2018

Quote
WASHINGTON — As President Trump congratulated the World Series champion Houston Astros at a White House ceremony last week, he also heaped praise on himself and congressional Republicans for passing a sweeping tax cut last year. He hailed Representative Kevin Brady of Texas, the House’s chief tax writer and an Astros superfan, as “the king of those tax cuts.”

What he did not mention is that the new tax law Mr. Brady helped draft, and which Mr. Trump signed, levies a large new tax on the Astros, and similar franchises across professional sports.

The law changed a corner of the tax code that mostly applies to farmers, manufacturers and other businesses that until recently could swap certain assets like trucks and machinery tax-free. But by adding a single word to the newly written tax code — “real” — the law now allows only real estate swaps to qualify for that special treatment.

That change is meant to capture more federal revenue, in order to partly offset reductions in business and personal income tax rates. It forces manufacturers, farmers and others to pay more in capital gains taxes, if they trade an asset for something more valuable. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the change will raise $31 billion over the next decade.

It also means that the Astros and other sports franchises could now face capital gains taxes every time they exchange or trade their highly paid players.

More (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/us/politics/baseball-tax-law-.html)

@EasyAce
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on March 20, 2018, 07:06:10 pm
A Curveball From the New Tax Law: It Makes Baseball Trades Harder

Jim Tankersley
The New York Times
March 19, 2018

More (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/us/politics/baseball-tax-law-.html)

@EasyAce
@Machiavelli
I saw this and a couple of other articles about it. I'm thinking of writing about it. It sort of comes under the heading of every silver lining
has its clouds . . .
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on March 20, 2018, 07:16:16 pm
@Machiavelli
I saw this and a couple of other articles about it. I'm thinking of writing about it. It sort of comes under the heading of every silver lining
has its clouds . . .

Hitting sports franchises is more of a feature than a bug, I'd say.  Trump was being a bit of a bullet-head in bragging about it to the team in a ceremony.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on March 20, 2018, 10:36:28 pm
Hitting sports franchises is more of a feature than a bug, I'd say.  Trump was being a bit of a bullet-head in bragging about it to the team in a ceremony.
He was also being a bullet-head signing off on a federal budget that will end up negating that portion of the tax cuts that isn't negated
by his tariffs and threatened trade war.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on March 20, 2018, 11:18:22 pm
He was also being a bullet-head signing off on a federal budget that will end up negating that portion of the tax cuts that isn't negated
by his tariffs and threatened trade war.

Yes, but is that a bug or a feature?  I'm in a cynical mood right now.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on March 20, 2018, 11:31:30 pm
Yes, but is that a bug or a feature?  I'm in a cynical mood right now.
I keep thinking, if only it were a bug . . .

! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBKTBEfyyPE#)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on March 30, 2018, 01:29:35 pm
Yay!! The 2018 baseball season has begun!!
(https://media.giphy.com/media/12UlfHpF05ielO/giphy.gif)


Top 10 moments of Opening Day 2018 (https://www.mlb.com/news/stanton-leads-top-moments-of-2018-opening-day/c-270087044)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on March 30, 2018, 01:32:26 pm
Yay!! The 2018 baseball season has begun!!
(https://media.giphy.com/media/12UlfHpF05ielO/giphy.gif)


Top 10 moments of Opening Day 2018 (https://www.mlb.com/news/stanton-leads-top-moments-of-2018-opening-day/c-270087044)

Both our teams have a 1.000 standing today.  How cool is that?
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on March 30, 2018, 01:34:53 pm
Both our teams have a 1.000 standing today.  How cool is that?

Yes!!  Very cool, indeed!
 :beer:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Machiavelli on April 01, 2018, 05:10:59 pm
A loss so embarrassing that even the umpire rips Phillies (http://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/phillies/loss-so-embarrassing-even-umpire-rips-phillies)

@EasyAce What do you think?
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on April 01, 2018, 06:37:23 pm
A loss so embarrassing that even the umpire rips Phillies (http://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/phillies/loss-so-embarrassing-even-umpire-rips-phillies)

@EasyAce What do you think?

I liked the final score.   :laugh:

It was a tough situation, though, especially for Milner.  I'm glad he apparently didn't suffer any ill effects from not having had a real warm-up.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 01, 2018, 06:41:10 pm
A loss so embarrassing that even the umpire rips Phillies (http://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/phillies/loss-so-embarrassing-even-umpire-rips-phillies)

@EasyAce What do you think?
@Machiavelli
I think the 1962 Mets weren't the only team to find new ways to lose nobody knew were invented yet. But at least those
Mets couldn't pin their foulups, bleeps, and blunders on their manager. Casey Stengel had his problems with those early Mets
but bullpen communication wasn't one of them.

Even the issue of using position players on the mound. It's been done before---usually, when the team in question is so blown
out in the game they don't dare risk the rest of their real pitchers. This one Kapler got right: he brought in a utility player to
pitch the eighth when the game couldn't be reached by cab, and the poor sap surrendered a two-run homer.

We take you back to September 2002. The Dodgers had the Diamondbacks buried alive, 18-0, going to the top of the ninth in Arizona.
Snakes first baseman Mark Grace volunteered to pitch the ninth and take one for the team. He actually got the first two outs
before a rookie named David Ross took him into the left field seats. "His first major league home run," Grace said after the game,
"and he gets it off Mark Grace. I feel sorry for him."

The following day, both players agreed to sit for a joint radio interview. "I got a bad scouting report," Grace cracked. "I was told
he was a good fastball hitter. So I threw him a bad fastball and he still hit it a mile."

But at least neither manager called for a bullpen bull who wasn't there or warmed up, either.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on April 01, 2018, 06:51:19 pm
@Machiavelli
I think the 1962 Mets weren't the only team to find new ways to lose nobody knew were invented yet. But at least those
Mets couldn't pin their foulups, bleeps, and blunders on their manager. Casey Stengel had his problems with those early Mets
but bullpen communication wasn't one of them.

Even the issue of using position players on the mound. It's been done before---usually, when the team in question is so blown
out in the game they don't dare risk the rest of their real pitchers. This one Kapler got right: he brought in a utility player to
pitch the eighth when the game couldn't be reached by cab, and the poor sap surrendered a two-run homer.

We take you back to September 2002. The Dodgers had the Diamondbacks buried alive, 18-0, going to the top of the ninth in Arizona.
Snakes first baseman Mark Grace volunteered to pitch the ninth and take one for the team. He actually got the first two outs
before a rookie named David Ross took him into the left field seats. "His first major league home run," Grace said after the game,
"and he gets it off Mark Grace. I feel sorry for him."

The following day, both players agreed to sit for a joint radio interview. "I got a bad scouting report," Grace cracked. "I was told
he was a good fastball hitter. So I threw him a bad fastball and he still hit it a mile."

But at least neither manager called for a bullpen bull who wasn't there or warmed up, either.

@Slip18 and I were talking about that outing Mark Grace had this morning, after I told her about the Philly wipe-out.  She said exactly what you did about Grace "taking one for the team."  Grace did pretty well, even giving up a homer.  He got the outs, and that was the bottom line.  And it was fun to watch.  He did a perfect impersonation of the Mike Fetters glare....

(We still get to enjoy Mike Fetters.  He's the Bullpen Coach.)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on April 01, 2018, 06:53:31 pm
@Machiavelli
Even the issue of using position players on the mound. It's been done before---usually, when the team in question is so blown out in the game they don't dare risk the rest of their real pitchers.

Jonny Gomes pitching for the Braves against the Yanks 3 years ago was a beautiful thing.

(http://mlb.mlb.com/images/6/7/8/146035678/082815_nyy_young_hr_med_b1l3ya40.gif)

(http://mlb.mlb.com/images/6/5/2/146038652/082815_atl_gomes_does_cueto_med_bp5e5752.gif)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 01, 2018, 07:41:59 pm
@Slip18 and I were talking about that outing Mark Grace had this morning, after I told her about the Philly wipe-out.  She said exactly what you did about Grace "taking one for the team."  Grace did pretty well, even giving up a homer.  He got the outs, and that was the bottom line.  And it was fun to watch.  He did a perfect impersonation of the Mike Fetters glare....

(We still get to enjoy Mike Fetters.  He's the Bullpen Coach.)
@Cyber Liberty
@Slip18
David Ross's first major league home run (off Mark Grace) . . .

! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v31OsQ3osWw#)


. . . and, his last, Game Seven, 2016 World Series (off Andrew Miller) . . .

! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwnp6wNBlgg#)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Machiavelli on April 01, 2018, 07:49:57 pm
In a few minutes, Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to make his MLB pitching debut. You can watch it on Fox Sports West.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 01, 2018, 08:11:21 pm
In a few minutes, Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to make his MLB pitching debut. You can watch it on Fox Sports West.
They're underway. The Angels opened with a base hit and a double play. (Why the hell is Scioscia batting Mike Trout second in the order?) Ground out to first
retires the side. Otani's going out to the mound.

Trivia: The last time a player started games as a pitcher and a hitter in the first ten days of a season was 1920---Bullet Joe Bush did it for the
Red Sox and Clarence Mitchell did it for the Dodgers.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Machiavelli on April 01, 2018, 08:17:56 pm
Ohtani strikes out the first batter he faces.

Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 01, 2018, 08:29:45 pm
Ohtani strikes out the first batter he faces.
Got the side in order sandwiching a foul out between two punchouts. RBI double makes it 1-0, Angels, top of the second.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Machiavelli on April 01, 2018, 08:36:31 pm
There goes Ohtani's no-hitter.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 01, 2018, 08:42:13 pm
There goes Ohtani's no-hitter.
There went his lead---strikeout, back to back singles, three-run bomb. 3-2, A's . . .
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on April 01, 2018, 08:44:25 pm
(https://scontent.flas1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/26055882_10155557953222912_2367429714045814069_n.jpg?oh=37d879caa33d6382983ba4a5029af1bd&oe=5AB9021A)

Spring training is only 11 days away!! (https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180213T00&p0=853&msg=Countdown+to+Pitchers+and+Catchers+report+to+Spring+Training&font=cursive)                                             Spring training is only 11 days away!! (https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180213T00&p0=853&msg=Countdown+to+Pitchers+and+Catchers+report+to+Spring+Training&font=cursive)                               Spring training is only 11 days away!! (https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180213T00&p0=853&msg=Countdown+to+Pitchers+and+Catchers+report+to+Spring+Training&font=cursive)                               Spring training is only 11 days away!! (https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180213T00&p0=853&msg=Countdown+to+Pitchers+and+Catchers+report+to+Spring+Training&font=cursive)                               Spring training is only 11 days away!! (https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180213T00&p0=853&msg=Countdown+to+Pitchers+and+Catchers+report+to+Spring+Training&font=cursive)                               Spring training is only 11 days away!! (https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180213T00&p0=853&msg=Countdown+to+Pitchers+and+Catchers+report+to+Spring+Training&font=cursive)                               Spring training is only 11 days away!! (https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180213T00&p0=853&msg=Countdown+to+Pitchers+and+Catchers+report+to+Spring+Training&font=cursive)

I love baseball!

D-Backs have added more improvements this year.  Boxberger is now our closer.  We added Dyson from the Mariners as our stealer of bases.  Dang.  With our older and much improved and non-injured players, we have a chance this year.

Easy, Mark Grace was such a great player.  Fun to watch, too.  He got in trouble with alcohol while going through a divorce.  It was a sad time for all of us.  We saw the whole sordid dance of the divorce.  It affected his announcing.  He has made a fabulous comeback in the past few years after being sent to the minors to coach.  We are proud of our Gracie, the one the Cubbies tossed overboard.

I will be in here more often when the heat hits.  Gotta get stuff done before the 115-degree dog days of summer comes strolling along.

Wheee!  ⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Machiavelli on April 01, 2018, 08:49:08 pm
Trout up. Something fishy going on here.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 01, 2018, 08:52:25 pm
Easy, Mark Grace was such a great player.  Fun to watch, too.  He got in trouble with alcohol while going through a divorce.  It was a sad time for all of us.  We saw the whole sordid dance of the divorce.  It affected his announcing.  He has made a fabulous comeback in the past few years after being sent to the minors to coach.  We are proud of our Gracie, the one the Cubbies tossed overboard.
@Slip18
In the years when Mark Grace first broke into the majors, the Cubs were so short-sighted that they didn't see something which might have made
a big difference in both their ability to win games and in Grace's career: Grace was a kind of anomaly---he was a first baseman with the hitting skills
of a number two hitter, playing with Ryne Sandberg, a second baseman with the hitting skills of a number three hitter. Like too many clubs at the
time the Cubs batted both players according to their position's "traditional" batting order slots and not according to their skill sets. Sandberg became
a Hall of Famer regardless, but you wonder a) whether Grace would have shaken out as a Hall of Famer if he'd been batted according to his skill set
and not his field position, and b) whether Sandberg would have been even more run productive hitting number three or even cleanup. The Cubs
in those years didn't have the brains to think that deeply about their resources.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on April 01, 2018, 09:00:26 pm
I will say
Twins v Astros in the AL
Nationals v Dodgers NL
Astros 4-3 in series

D-Backs would have been in last year's series, except the Dodgers played an utterly outstanding season.  So far this year the Dodgers have lost two games to the Giants.  So they have only won one game.

D-Backs have a good, might I say exceptional, chance of getting the penant this year.

⚾⚾⚾
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on April 01, 2018, 09:02:54 pm
I have been restlessly waiting for today so I could put it back on! 

Also my Braves earrings and hair scrunchie, although my avatar doesn't reflect that.  Hmmmm ... maybe I need to work on that a bit one of these days.

Just wow, Polly.  I have D-Backs ribbons for my hair.  LOL!

⚾⚾⚾
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on April 01, 2018, 09:06:18 pm
X-ray of baseballs reveals possible cause of home run surge (https://sports.yahoo.com/x-rays-baseballs-reveal-possible-cause-home-run-surge-211752046.html)

@EasyAce

We now have a thermador for our baseballs.  I do wonder how that will affect our games.  The dry air here is very hard on the balls. Just like your skin.  We must keep our skin moisturized at all times.

⚾⚾⚾
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on April 01, 2018, 09:14:35 pm
Most indispensable players for all 30 teams in 2018 (https://www.mlb.com/news/most-indispensable-players-for-30-mlb-teams/c-268428780)

Absolutely great article, Polly.  One of the reasons I love baseball is because it is a team and an individual sport.  You can take away your MVP on a team, and still have a very good year.  Just my humble opinion.

⚾⚾⚾
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on April 01, 2018, 09:18:57 pm
My big question involving Paul Goldschmidt might actually be how long he remains a Diamondback. There've been trade rumours
around him in the past, and if the Snakes don't make a good showing this season after getting shoved out early last postseason,
who knows if they decide to push the reset button and cash Goldschmidt in for a small haul of prospects or younger major leaguers?

I do not think Goldy will leave the D-Backs, no matter what.  He will take a cut in pay to stay.  He is not as strong as he was prior to Baby Goldschmidt, but he is motivated every game.

He is so involved in this community that he is here to stay.

Again that is my humble opinion. LOL!

⚾⚾⚾
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on April 01, 2018, 09:22:19 pm
Shhhhhh.....  @EasyAce  wrote us off with minimal chances last year.  Maybe he will do us a favor and do the same this year.

I made a whopping five dollars off of your team last year.  I bet one sister that the Astros would take it in seven.  Two other sisters would not bet against me. LOL!

⚾⚾⚾
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on April 01, 2018, 09:29:01 pm
Hitting sports franchises is more of a feature than a bug, I'd say.  Trump was being a bit of a bullet-head in bragging about it to the team in a ceremony.

Politics has nothing to do with baseball.  Leave us alone, will ya, bureaucrats!

⚾⚾⚾
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on April 01, 2018, 09:39:02 pm
Yay!! The 2018 baseball season has begun!!
(https://media.giphy.com/media/12UlfHpF05ielO/giphy.gif)


Top 10 moments of Opening Day 2018 (https://www.mlb.com/news/stanton-leads-top-moments-of-2018-opening-day/c-270087044)

I was at my first acupuncture appointment when Happ hit the home run on the first pitch.  Too good.  The doctor was going crazy because his three patients were baseball fanatics.  The other patient has had season tickets for the Diamondbacks for 20 years!  He was trying to get the doc to go with him to the opening game.  Hey, what about me?

The doc was trying to get us all to just shut up about baseball. LOL!

⚾⚾⚾
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 01, 2018, 09:47:51 pm
Mike Trout---RBI double. Justin Upton---sacrifice fly. The Angels re-take the lead, 4-3, middle of the fifth.
Ohtani's only real dicy inning: the second. He wasn't feeling the breaking balls right just yet and the A's made
him pay.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on April 02, 2018, 03:30:52 pm
Astro's home opener tonight.
Local TV is going to cover the ballpark all day.
They have pregame stuff going on outside, and this will be the first time they've played at home as the World Series champs, in regular season anyway.
They played 2 exhibition games here against the Brewers before taking 3 out of 4 from the Rangers in Arlington, to open the season.

(I really enjoyed typing the part in italics...)

 :cool:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on April 02, 2018, 03:40:45 pm
I know some Ranger fans who are uhhh  feeling a little deflated right now. 
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on April 02, 2018, 03:48:41 pm
Astro's home opener tonight.
Local TV is going to cover the ballpark all day.
They have pregame stuff going on outside, and this will be the first time they've played at home as the World Series champs, in regular season anyway.
They played 2 exhibition games here against the Brewers before taking 3 out of 4 from the Rangers in Arlington, to open the season.

(I really enjoyed typing the part in italics...)

 :cool:

If you go down there, be sure and pay homage to the Trophy.  It's spectacular and will send a shiver down your spine! 888high58888
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on April 02, 2018, 04:08:14 pm
If you go down there, be sure and pay homage to the Trophy.  It's spectacular and will send a shiver down your spine! 888high58888

Unfortunately, I'll have to work.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on April 02, 2018, 04:24:13 pm
Unfortunately, I'll have to work.

It'll be there on display all season, so take your time. 
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on April 02, 2018, 05:57:55 pm
Mike Trout---RBI double. Justin Upton---sacrifice fly. The Angels re-take the lead, 4-3, middle of the fifth.
Ohtani's only real dicy inning: the second. He wasn't feeling the breaking balls right just yet and the A's made
him pay.

Just a little tidbit from a collector:  Anything signed by Mike Trout is very expensive. Probably the most expensive of any player.  I cannot figure out why, unless he is like Koufax and only signs things for people who will keep them.

Dang, my three baseballs don't show up when I amusing the Lenovo.  Comes up when you type the word "baseball" on the Kindle.  Different strokes and all, I guess.  LOL!

 :shrug:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: dfwgator on April 02, 2018, 05:59:19 pm
I think the Tigers are already mathematically eliminated.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on April 02, 2018, 06:02:51 pm
I think the Tigers are already mathematically eliminated.

I cannot for the life of me figure out the "RDIFF" that is now being used on MLB.com.  It is on the area where they show wins and losses for the team.  It is different from last year.

Clueless here!  Ratio difference? 

 **nononono*
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 02, 2018, 06:13:55 pm
I cannot for the life of me figure out the "RDIFF" that is now being used on MLB.com.  It is on the area where they show wins and losses for the team.  It is different from last year.

Clueless here!  Ratio difference? 

 **nononono*
Run differential.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 02, 2018, 06:17:25 pm
Whiners of the Weekend Award to the Minnesota Twins---for bitching about the Orioles' Chance Sisco, facing a defensive shift,
bunting away from the shift and picking up an infield single that was only the second Oriole hit of the game. What did the Twins
expect Sisco to do when they shifted on him, roll over and play dead? If you're going to put a shift on in the ninth inning when
you're ahead 7-0, you don't get to complain when the hitter takes advantage of that shift and pushes a base hit up the
unoccupied side.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on April 02, 2018, 06:20:37 pm
@Slip18
In the years when Mark Grace first broke into the majors, the Cubs were so short-sighted that they didn't see something which might have made
a big difference in both their ability to win games and in Grace's career: Grace was a kind of anomaly---he was a first baseman with the hitting skills
of a number two hitter, playing with Ryne Sandberg, a second baseman with the hitting skills of a number three hitter. Like too many clubs at the
time the Cubs batted both players according to their position's "traditional" batting order slots and not according to their skill sets. Sandberg became
a Hall of Famer regardless, but you wonder a) whether Grace would have shaken out as a Hall of Famer if he'd been batted according to his skill set
and not his field position, and b) whether Sandberg would have been even more run productive hitting number three or even cleanup. The Cubs
in those years didn't have the brains to think that deeply about their resources.

Too bad there isn't a "Most Congenial Ballplayer."  Mark would have that one tied up.

First basemen are a whole different lot in baseball.  First baseman Joey Votto of the Reds bought a goat for a teammate on a bet last season.

Love it!

 888high58888
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on April 02, 2018, 06:25:55 pm
Run differential.

Thank you, Easy.  Now it makes sense.

The Dodgers are ahead of us in the RDIFF factor even though we have a better average.  Three whole games, and we are ahead of the Dodgers.  Too funny.  We play them tonight.  Should be interesting.  Kershaw will probably be pitching on Tuesday for the Dodgers, if the five-day rest "rule" is still in effect.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 02, 2018, 06:37:11 pm
Too bad there isn't a "Most Congenial Ballplayer."  Mark would have that one tied up.

First basemen are a whole different lot in baseball.  First baseman Joey Votto of the Reds bought a goat for a teammate on a bet last season.

Love it!

 888high58888
I've known of a few flaky first basemen in my years . . . Joe Pepitone (who had problems running way deeper than merely being a flake) . . .
Keith Hernandez . . . Vic Power . . .

Still, nobody beats pitchers for flakiness.

Think of Wilcy Moore, who revenged a Babe Ruth prank by buying Ruth a pair of donkeys he named Babe and Ruth . . . Lefty Gomez, who once stopped
a game so he could watch a flying boat passing over Yankee Stadium en route La Guardia Airport's Marine Air Terminal . . . Moe Drabowsky, maybe
the flakiest of the flakes, who once did such a perfect impression of A's manager Alvin Dark he called the A's bullpen to order a reliever to warm up
when the A's starter was working a shutout and also ran a string of fireworks from the bullpen to Chief Noc-A-Homa's teepee and lit them "waiting
for the Chief to surrender" . . . the Orioles bullpen of the mid-1960s, who had wienie roasts when they weren't warming up (and who once spiked
an opposing bullpen's water cooler with live goldfish) . . . Juan Marichal, who loved to prank teammates by leaving them elaborately-carved perfume
bottles to give their wives or girlfriends as gifts, only to have the poor victims discover the hard way the perfumes were loaded with stink bombs . . .
Roger McDowell, who once wore his uniform upside down out to the bullpen and also once gave the Mets' first base coach a time-delayed hotfoot
that exploded into flames as the coach got back out to the coaching line . . .
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on April 02, 2018, 09:06:36 pm
I've known of a few flaky first basemen in my years . . . Joe Pepitone (who had problems running way deeper than merely being a flake) . . .
Keith Hernandez . . . Vic Power . . .

Still, nobody beats pitchers for flakiness.

Think of Wilcy Moore, who revenged a Babe Ruth prank by buying Ruth a pair of donkeys he named Babe and Ruth . . . Lefty Gomez, who once stopped
a game so he could watch a flying boat passing over Yankee Stadium en route La Guardia Airport's Marine Air Terminal . . . Moe Drabowsky, maybe
the flakiest of the flakes, who once did such a perfect impression of A's manager Alvin Dark he called the A's bullpen to order a reliever to warm up
when the A's starter was working a shutout and also ran a string of fireworks from the bullpen to Chief Noc-A-Homa's teepee and lit them "waiting
for the Chief to surrender" . . . the Orioles bullpen of the mid-1960s, who had wienie roasts when they weren't warming up (and who once spiked
an opposing bullpen's water cooler with live goldfish) . . . Juan Marichal, who loved to prank teammates by leaving them elaborately-carved perfume
bottles to give their wives or girlfriends as gifts, only to have the poor victims discover the hard way the perfumes were loaded with stink bombs . . .
Roger McDowell, who once wore his uniform upside down out to the bullpen and also once gave the Mets' first base coach a time-delayed hotfoot
that exploded into flames as the coach got back out to the coaching line . . .

Ya gotta love first basemen!  Thank you for that.  For some reason they have always been of interest to me. Just a bit on the edge.

 :silly:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 02, 2018, 09:23:26 pm
Ya gotta love first basemen!  Thank you for that.  For some reason they have always been of interest to me. Just a bit on the edge.

 :silly:
I should tell you that the Oriole bullpen wienie roasts may have been inspired by Whitey Ford of the Yankees. Ford wasn't a relief pitcher, but he
did like to show his appreciation to the Yankee bullpen by setting up a table with a red-and-white checkered tablecloth, hero sandwich rolls,
assorted cold cuts, condiments, and spices.

Then there was the Mets bullpen of the mid-to-late 1970s---they grew fresh vegetables in their Shea Stadium bullpen for a time.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on April 03, 2018, 02:38:33 pm
@EasyAce

D-Backs snookered the Dodgers in 15 innings.  5 hours 46 minutes.  Longest time for our team on the field.  LOL!

Dodgers were ahead or tied with us the whole time.  We both ran out of players, save for starters.  Mathis, our catcher, came in the game to pitch in the 16th, but he hit in the 15th.  Goldy and Pollock walked. Mathis hit a single.

5th walkoff for Mathis in his career.

Fun game, kind of like sandlot.  LOL!

⚾⚾⚾
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Machiavelli on April 04, 2018, 05:21:17 pm
Shohei Ohtani belts first major league homer in Angels’ victory (https://www.ocregister.com/2018/04/03/shohei-ohtani-belts-first-major-league-homer-in-angels-victory/)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 04, 2018, 06:22:34 pm
Shohei Ohtani belts first major league homer in Angels’ victory (https://www.ocregister.com/2018/04/03/shohei-ohtani-belts-first-major-league-homer-in-angels-victory/)
And a hearty belt it was!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: andy58-in-nh on April 04, 2018, 06:48:49 pm
Opening Day at Fenway Park tomorrow... and the forecast is: Sunny, with a high near 43. Breezy, with a west wind 20 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph.

Better bundle up, and with the wind blowing out to Center/Right, somebody's going to go yahhhhd....
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on April 04, 2018, 09:17:18 pm
...and the Astros are now 6-1 to start the season.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on April 04, 2018, 10:05:29 pm
...and the Astros are now 6-1 to start the season.
:thumbsup:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on April 04, 2018, 10:27:16 pm
...and the Astros are now 6-1 to start the season.

 888high58888
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on April 04, 2018, 10:36:51 pm
Snakes just swept the Dodgers.   :patriot:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 04, 2018, 10:56:10 pm
Shotei Ohtani hit his second bomb in two days---a two-run shot off Corey Kluber, of all people!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 04, 2018, 10:57:53 pm
. . . and, that'll be my New York Mets at the top of the NL East right now, at 4-1. The bullpen, of all people, went five scoreless
this afternoon as the Mets beat the Phillies, 4-2.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on April 05, 2018, 12:35:27 am
...and the Astros are now 6-1 to start the season.

BEEEEE-  UUUUUUU-  Tiful

(https://www.picclickimg.com/d/w1600/pict/162738706868_/Houston-Astros-World-Series-Champions-Championship-2017-Ring.jpg)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on April 05, 2018, 01:07:57 am
BEEEEE-  UUUUUUU-  Tiful

(https://www.picclickimg.com/d/w1600/pict/162738706868_/Houston-Astros-World-Series-Champions-Championship-2017-Ring.jpg)

I heard they gave everyone in the entire organization one of those.  I think that's marvelous!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on April 05, 2018, 04:00:04 am
BEEEEE-  UUUUUUU-  Tiful

(https://www.picclickimg.com/d/w1600/pict/162738706868_/Houston-Astros-World-Series-Champions-Championship-2017-Ring.jpg)

I want one!  Gorgeous!

  888high58888
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on April 05, 2018, 04:02:24 am
BEEEEE-  UUUUUUU-  Tiful

(https://www.picclickimg.com/d/w1600/pict/162738706868_/Houston-Astros-World-Series-Champions-Championship-2017-Ring.jpg)

I don't think my five buck bet will get me that ring, do you?

 :silly:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on April 05, 2018, 04:58:15 am
I don't think my five buck bet will get me that ring, do you?

 :silly:

I heard that owner (Crain) basically had 900 made for everyone involved with organization.  With that many, I hope to secure one on the open market at some time.  Lack of scarcity should help affordability.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on April 05, 2018, 02:26:12 pm
BEEEEE-  UUUUUUU-  Tiful

(https://www.picclickimg.com/d/w1600/pict/162738706868_/Houston-Astros-World-Series-Champions-Championship-2017-Ring.jpg)

I am really proud of these guys.
They took a long time to get one of these here, but when they did, they did it with a lot of class.
On the other side of that ring, it says "Houston Strong", with the Houston Skyline embossed over the left field wall of Minute Maid Park.
For those of you not familiar with that motto, "Houston Strong", it was the motto adopted during and after Hurricane Harvey.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on April 05, 2018, 02:29:29 pm
I don't think my five buck bet will get me that ring, do you?

 :silly:

FYI, They are selling 112 limited edition of these to the public (112 was the total number of wins it took to win it all).

The Price?

$11,211.00, which has a meaning also.

(112 total wins, 11 post season)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on April 08, 2018, 11:37:07 pm
Bench-clearing brawl in St. Louis!  D-backs win it, and the series and go to 7-2.  D-Backs Manager thrown out of the game...

! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=36&v=ym-_je507kU#)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Machiavelli on April 09, 2018, 03:59:39 pm
Angels rookie Shohei Ohtani nearly perfect in Big A mound debut

Quote
... Shohei Ohtani turned Angel Stadium electric, striking out 12 in seven innings in his first appearance on the mound in his home stadium. He was perfect through 79 pitches, retiring 19 consecutive before Oakland’s Marcus Semien singled sharply to left field in the seventh...

More (https://www.ocregister.com/2018/04/08/angels-rookie-shohei-ohtani-nearly-perfect-in-big-a-mound-debut/)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on April 09, 2018, 04:07:02 pm
Bench-clearing brawl in St. Louis!  D-backs win it, and the series and go to 7-2.  D-Backs Manager thrown out of the game...

! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=36&v=ym-_je507kU#)

Has anyone heard or know why Molina got involved in this confrontation?  Looks like he was being a punk......
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on April 09, 2018, 04:16:46 pm
Has anyone heard or know why Molina got involved in this confrontation?  Looks like he was being a punk......

I can't figure that out.  Apparently he flipped out at something Lovullo said.  They asked Lovullo about it in the post-game press conference, and he said he didn't know what set Molina off.

There was a discussion about Molina's framing the ball, and the Umpire was falling for the scheme.  The Ump had just called an obvious low ball a strike three, and it PO'ed Paralta enough to have some words with the Umpire before Lovulla came out and the fight started.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 09, 2018, 04:19:45 pm
Has anyone heard or know why Molina got involved in this confrontation?  Looks like he was being a punk......
@catfish1957
@Cyber Liberty

Apparently, when Snakes manager Torey Lovullo came out of the dugout to take up the argument for his player, he gestured
toward Molina and said something to the umpire like, "That [maternal fornicator] . . . ," which didn't exactly sit well with
Molina. Lovullo was probably lucky that a shove was all he got, after Molina barreled past the plate umpire, Tim Timmons.
Who took the absolute wisest route, by the way, and ejected no one but Lovullo. He heard Lovullo's expletive toward
Molina and didn't blame Molina one iota for blowing up. Not even when Molina bumped him lunging for Lovullo. It would
have been an automatic ejection for Lovullo, anyway, once he got past his player, A.J. Pollock.)

From semi-ancient history, the confrontation between John Hirschbeck and Roberto Alomar: Hirschbeck was foolish enough
to use the same expletive in pushing the confrontation after Alomar started walking back to his dugout saying nothing worse
than, "Just play." Hearing that expletive, Alomar exploded and you know the rest, sort of. Alomar himself said later that
it isn't a bright idea using that expletive with Latino players. I've known myself of incidents not involving baseball games but
involving instances in which referring to a Latino as a [maternal fornicator] was liable to get you a knife in your gut.

There was a postscript to the Hirschbeck-Alomar incident, even after Alomar made a formal apology. Couple of years later,
when Alomar was with the Indians and Hirschbeck's umpiring crew was assigned to a series in Cleveland, Hirschbeck
apparently couldn't stand it anymore and asked the Indians' longtime clubhouse manager what Alomar was really
like. The reply absolutely floored Hirschbeck: "He's one of the two nicest people I've ever met around here. And you're
the other one." Hirschbeck then sought Alomar out. And the two became friends. "If that's the only thing Robbie ever did
wrong in his life," Hirschbeck told reporters, "he's living a good, clean life. You forgive. You forget. You move on."

Later, Hirschbeck became one of Alomar's most public campaigners for the Hall of Fame. When Alomar didn't make it
first ballot, Hirschbeck blamed himself. "No, John," Alomar replied. "It wasn't your fault. It was mine." Alomar made
it on his second try.

Molina had a very interested party up in the Cardinals' broadcast booth, by the way: his older brother, Bengie, former
catcher and once a key man on the Angels' 2002 World Series winner: When [Lovullo] said it, oh, that’s game on. I
wanted to hold my breath and see what happened. I knew something was not right. Then I heard those words to him.
I don’t think he meant it. But you don’t say that to anybody. You just don’t say that. Let’s make it clear, he was being
offensive. Say it some other way, buddy.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on April 09, 2018, 04:20:41 pm
I can't figure that out.  Apparently he flipped out at something Lovullo said.  They asked Lovullo about it in the post-game press conference, and he said he didn't know what set Molina off.

There was a discussion about Molina's framing the ball, and the Umpire was falling for the scheme.  The Ump had just called an obvious low ball a strike three, and it PO'ed Paralta enough to have some words with the Umpire before Lovulla came out and the fight started.

If STL wants to return to previous glory, they better worry about more substantial things than "pitch framing"

Or was this some kind of Crash Davis tactic to wake their guys up?
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on April 09, 2018, 04:26:55 pm
@catfish1957
@Cyber Liberty

 "That [maternal fornicator] . . . ," which didn't exactly sit well with
Molina.

I've sat close enough to the dugout before, to know that every 10th word from these guys is an expletive.  I think there must be some other history or factors that got Molina to snap.  Like an old tired STL team that isn't guaranteed to win the NLC crown year after year anymore.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on April 09, 2018, 04:40:39 pm
I can't figure that out.  Apparently he flipped out at something Lovullo said.  They asked Lovullo about it in the post-game press conference, and he said he didn't know what set Molina off.

There was a discussion about Molina's framing the ball, and the Umpire was falling for the scheme.  The Ump had just called an obvious low ball a strike three, and it PO'ed Paralta enough to have some words with the Umpire before Lovulla came out and the fight started.

Listening to our local sports talk station yesterday, and didn't realize that the current crop of ML umpires are "scabs", being hired after MLB fired everybody that went on strike.

The topic evolved into whether in this day of technology, why a "balls and strikes" umpire is necessary.   Yes, he's there for any plays at the plate, but a computer involving lasers should be able to work with the 'left/right' and high/low as each batter enters the box.

IMO, a player such as Trey Turner (NATS), can be a total game changer when 'wins' a base on balls, especially in late innings with the game on the line.   Last week, he was robbed of at least THREE WALKS...getting called out looking at a ball FOUR FRIGGING INCHES OFF THE PLATE!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 09, 2018, 06:14:09 pm
I've sat close enough to the dugout before, to know that every 10th word from these guys is an expletive.  I think there must be some other history or factors that got Molina to snap.  Like an old tired STL team that isn't guaranteed to win the NLC crown year after year anymore.
Ballplayers use expletives the way guitarists use up strings, but there are certain lines understood not to be crossed. Molina isn't the first
Latino ballplayer to take offense at being called a maternal fornicator and he won't be the last. And when the other guys' manager
does it, that's liable to escalate even worse. That's just the way it is. I don't think there's much tense history between the Cardinals and
the Diamondbacks otherwise.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on April 09, 2018, 06:26:33 pm
Ballplayers use expletives the way guitarists use up strings, but there are certain lines understood not to be crossed. Molina isn't the first
Latino ballplayer to take offense at being called a maternal fornicator and he won't be the last. And when the other guys' manager
does it, that's liable to escalate even worse. That's just the way it is. I don't think there's much tense history between the Cardinals and
the Diamondbacks otherwise.

No, there are no issues between the snakes and the cards that I know of either.  This was the last of a three-game series, so the snakes left town for LA after yesterday's game.  We are more likely to have a scuffle with them, because Puig is a bit of a nemesis.  He's already caused, I think, two brawls with AZ?
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 09, 2018, 06:31:51 pm
Listening to our local sports talk station yesterday, and didn't realize that the current crop of ML umpires are "scabs", being hired after MLB fired everybody that went on strike.
@DCPatriot
It wasn't exactly a strike. I remember it only too well; it happened in 1999. It was a ploy dreamed up by the late executive director of the old Major League
Umpires Association, Richie Phillips, while he was trying to strong-arm baseball government into immunising umpires from accountability on the job.

Two things led to the ploy: 1) Umpire Tom Hallion was suspended for bumping Colorado pitcher Jeff Reed earlier that season, and Phillips and some umps
took offense to the suspension. (Which should make you wonder how much blue murder the umps would have screamed if a player had bumped an ump
but wasn't suspended for it.) 2) Baseball government's moves toward more umpire accountability that year included a survey taken of players, managers,
coaches, and executives rating umpires' performances. Sandy Alderson---now the Mets' general manager, then working in the commissioner's office---
said publicly, "I got worried when I found out that [team personnel] were more concerned with who was umpiring the next day than they were about who
was pitching."

To Phillips those things amounted to "humiliating" and "degrading" the umpires. He also thumped publicly about equating umpires to federal judges: "I don't
believe they should always be subject to the voter, just like federal judges are not subject to the voter." When Alderson rejoined that federal judges can be
impeached, Phillips hit the proverbial ceiling.

Phillips announced the resignations of 57 of baseball's 66 major league umpires on July 14, 1999. "[T]hey want to feel good about themselves and would
rather not continue as umpires if they have to continue under present circumstances," Phillips fumed. "They feel, in the past seven months or so, they have
been humiliated and denigrated."

In essence, Phillips — who died in 2013 — sought to proclaim and consecrate major league umpires as laws unto themselves. When the commissioner's office
asked teams to chart pitches and file reports on individual umpires' strike zones, Phillips denounced the request as "just another case of Big Brother watching
over us."

The mass resignations were in truth a bid to end-run the no-strike clause in the umpires' labour agreement with Major League Baseball. And Phillips announced
concurrently that the umpires would be employed by a new body called Umpires, Inc., who would negotiate to provide major league umpires and would also be
the sole supervisor of the arbiters as well as the first and final caller on who'd be assigned to which games.

"To owners and players alike," observed the Society for American Baseball Research analyst Doug Pappas, may he, too, rest in peace, "this demand was tantamount
to a municipal police union demanding an end to civilian control of a police force." And the ploy backfired drastically.

Alderson had one answer to the mass resignations: they were "either a threat to be ignored or an offer to be accepted." The commissioner's office accepted the offer,
and a few of the umps, after consulting their personal lawyers, yanked their resignations back fast.

Then a group of dissenting American League umps, with John Hirschbeck and Joe Brinkman leading them, denounced Phillips publicly and urging their colleagues to
do likewise. Near the end of July 1999, baseball hired 25 minor league umps all of whom had major league experience filling in for umps on their mid-year vacations.

Shortly after that, then-American League president Gene Budig (then-commissioner Bud Selig hadn't yet folded the individual league offices) said nine American League
umps who hadn't rescinded their resignations would lose their jobs come September 2. Those nine and 33 National League umps withdrew their resignations. Alas,
the league said they had only 20 openings.

Hirschbeck and Brinkman then helped form the new World Umpires Association, after the arbiters first decertified the MLUA by an almost 2-to-1 margin. The WUA
negotiated and got many of the umps who walked off Phillips's cliff re-hired; the MLUA continued representing many of the resigners. (The late Ken Kaiser, who
passed away last year, was among the ones who missed when MLB rehired half the terminated. The aforementioned Tom Hallion was re-hired at last in 2005, and
he found himself fined heavily enough after an incident with then-Tampa Bay pitcher David Price, when Price showed his frustration on the mound over a bad call
and Hallion ordered him to, and I quote, throw the f--king ball over the plate.)

Unfortunately, umpire accountability remains a dicey subject.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on April 09, 2018, 06:43:14 pm
Quote
(Which should make you wonder how much blue murder the umps would have screamed if a player had bumped an ump but wasn't suspended for it.)

Apparently not much.  Molina almost connected with the Ump's face in the video above, trying to punch Luvello.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 09, 2018, 07:11:33 pm
Apparently not much.  Molina almost connected with the Ump's face in the video above, trying to punch Luvello.
Actually, Molina did bump plate ump Tim Timmons. And Timmons showed an excellent example of an umpire keeping his head,
seeing the thing for what it was, and not overreacting. Timmons heard Lovullo call Molina [maternal fornicator] and knew almost
by instinct that it was liable to piss Molina off that deeply, and Timmons knew Molina wasn't trying to bump him when he
lunged for Lovullo. That's an ump setting an excellent example for knowing what really was and what really wasn't.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on April 09, 2018, 07:25:37 pm
Actually, Molina did bump plate ump Tim Timmons. And Timmons showed an excellent example of an umpire keeping his head,
seeing the thing for what it was, and not overreacting. Timmons heard Lovullo call Molina [maternal fornicator] and knew almost
by instinct that it was liable to piss Molina off that deeply, and Timmons knew Molina wasn't trying to bump him when he
lunged for Lovullo. That's an ump setting an excellent example for knowing what really was and what really wasn't.

That's also an Ump willing to forgive on the field an attempted assault and battery.   :shrug:   That's an example of something else.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on April 09, 2018, 07:34:29 pm
@DCPatriot
It wasn't exactly a strike. I remember it only too well; it happened in 1999. It was a ploy dreamed up by the late executive director of the old Major League
Umpires Association, Richie Phillips, while he was trying to strong-arm baseball government into immunising umpires from accountability on the job.

Two things led to the ploy: 1) Umpire Tom Hallion was suspended for bumping Colorado pitcher Jeff Reed earlier that season, and Phillips and some umps
took offense to the suspension. (Which should make you wonder how much blue murder the umps would have screamed if a player had bumped an ump
but wasn't suspended for it.) 2) Baseball government's moves toward more umpire accountability that year included a survey taken of players, managers,
coaches, and executives rating umpires' performances. Sandy Alderson---now the Mets' general manager, then working in the commissioner's office---
said publicly, "I got worried when I found out that [team personnel] were more concerned with who was umpiring the next day than they were about who
was pitching."

To Phillips those things amounted to "humiliating" and "degrading" the umpires. He also thumped publicly about equating umpires to federal judges: "I don't
believe they should always be subject to the voter, just like federal judges are not subject to the voter." When Alderson rejoined that federal judges can be
impeached, Phillips hit the proverbial ceiling.

Phillips announced the resignations of 57 of baseball's 66 major league umpires on July 14, 1999. "[T]hey want to feel good about themselves and would
rather not continue as umpires if they have to continue under present circumstances," Phillips fumed. "They feel, in the past seven months or so, they have
been humiliated and denigrated."

In essence, Phillips — who died in 2013 — sought to proclaim and consecrate major league umpires as laws unto themselves. When the commissioner's office
asked teams to chart pitches and file reports on individual umpires' strike zones, Phillips denounced the request as "just another case of Big Brother watching
over us."

The mass resignations were in truth a bid to end-run the no-strike clause in the umpires' labour agreement with Major League Baseball. And Phillips announced
concurrently that the umpires would be employed by a new body called Umpires, Inc., who would negotiate to provide major league umpires and would also be
the sole supervisor of the arbiters as well as the first and final caller on who'd be assigned to which games.

"To owners and players alike," observed the Society for American Baseball Research analyst Doug Pappas, may he, too, rest in peace, "this demand was tantamount
to a municipal police union demanding an end to civilian control of a police force." And the ploy backfired drastically.

Alderson had one answer to the mass resignations: they were "either a threat to be ignored or an offer to be accepted." The commissioner's office accepted the offer,
and a few of the umps, after consulting their personal lawyers, yanked their resignations back fast.

Then a group of dissenting American League umps, with John Hirschbeck and Joe Brinkman leading them, denounced Phillips publicly and urging their colleagues to
do likewise. Near the end of July 1999, baseball hired 25 minor league umps all of whom had major league experience filling in for umps on their mid-year vacations.

Shortly after that, then-American League president Gene Budig (then-commissioner Bud Selig hadn't yet folded the individual league offices) said nine American League
umps who hadn't rescinded their resignations would lose their jobs come September 2. Those nine and 33 National League umps withdrew their resignations. Alas,
the league said they had only 20 openings.

Hirschbeck and Brinkman then helped form the new World Umpires Association, after the arbiters first decertified the MLUA by an almost 2-to-1 margin. The WUA
negotiated and got many of the umps who walked off Phillips's cliff re-hired; the MLUA continued representing many of the resigners. (The late Ken Kaiser, who
passed away last year, was among the ones who missed when MLB rehired half the terminated. The aforementioned Tom Hallion was re-hired at last in 2005, and
he found himself fined heavily enough after an incident with then-Tampa Bay pitcher David Price, when Price showed his frustration on the mound over a bad call
and Hallion ordered him to, and I quote, throw the f--king ball over the plate.)

Unfortunately, umpire accountability remains a dicey subject.

My God... @EasyAce ....thanks so much for the detailed reply.

Again, I ask, 'Who' are you?    888high58888  (rhetorically, of course)

Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 09, 2018, 07:48:16 pm
My God... @EasyAce ....thanks so much for the detailed reply.
@DCPatriot
You're welcome!

In fairness, a lot of what I put up there I took from part of an article I wrote last year when Ken Kaiser died; he was one of the poor saps
who went along with Richie Phillips's suicide strategy.

Again, I ask, 'Who' are you?    888high58888  (rhetorically, of course)
I yam what I yam. ;)  :beer:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 09, 2018, 07:58:30 pm
That's also an Ump willing to forgive on the field an attempted assault and battery.   :shrug:   That's an example of something else.
I don't think Timmons would have been so forgiving if Molina or anyone else had tried deliberately to take a poke at him.
As for Molina lunging at Lovullo, it may not have been the thing you or me might have done merely upon a torrent of swearing,
but there's something sadly admirable about a man who doesn't take to being called a [maternal fornicator] gladly.

Security guards are also somewhat notorious for foul mouths among themselves. I know. I did security work for awhile while
trying to set myself up as a free-lance editor/musician here in Vegas and needed something to sit on until the latter began to
work out for me. Now, I don't have a foul mouth, ordinarily. But I got that, well, you can't avoid it among some workers' groups.
Well, one fine day I did a fill-in shift for someone on a post not my own regular post. That shift's supervisor came around to
check on us before we went out to our slots (it was a large business park; I was the rover on the post, tooling 'round in a
golf cart while ten other guys posted in the ten buildings). He introduced himself to me and then said, "You are one tall
[maternal fornicator]." (For the record, I'm 6'4" in bare feet; I was wearing a pair of special black walking shoes that day
which had an inch-thick sole/heel.)

I told him in no uncertain terms that, supervisor or no, he didn't know me well enough to address me in language like that,
and when he demanded to know who the eff I thought I was, I told him, "I'm the guy who's going to put you through
the wall if you ever talk to me that way again, that's who the eff [I really did say "eff"] I think I am." He ordered me off the
post . . . and I went right to the company field chief, who backed me all the way on it and made sure I got paid for the day
regardless. I was told later that he went out to that site and ripped that supervisor a few new ones over it. About a week
later, that supervisor found me on my regular post and said, "I'd like to apologise." I shook his hand and said, "I'd like to
accept that apology." And that was that.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on April 09, 2018, 08:38:50 pm
I don't think Timmons would have been so forgiving if Molina or anyone else had tried deliberately to take a poke at him.  As for Molina lunging at Lovullo, it may not have been the thing you or me might have done merely upon a torrent of swearing, but there's something sadly admirable about a man who doesn't take to being called a [maternal fornicator] gladly.


Overall, I would call it a "No harm, no foul" deal because Molina didn't connect with any of his punches.  I wonder how much of the Ump's leniency was because he knew deep down it was really HIS fault.  He'd been calling strikes however the catcher framed the pitch, and he was making lousy calls on both sides the whole game.   The local announcers were astonished at some of his calls prior to that, and with the modern now-a-go-go graphics on the screen showing the strike zone, you could see the calls were off.  That particular call was at least three inches below the zone.  You could also see the bad calls on Game Day on MLB.com.

All that said, I know Luvello had to be pitched out, because he did get past the player.  It's just unseemly a little that Molina took a barrel-house swing at Luvello and got away with it.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 09, 2018, 09:19:47 pm
Overall, I would call it a "No harm, no foul" deal because Molina didn't connect with any of his punches.  I wonder how much of the Ump's leniency was because he knew deep down it was really HIS fault.  He'd been calling strikes however the catcher framed the pitch, and he was making lousy calls on both sides the whole game.   The local announcers were astonished at some of his calls prior to that, and with the modern now-a-go-go graphics on the screen showing the strike zone, you could see the calls were off.  That particular call was at least three inches below the zone.  You could also see the bad calls on Game Day on MLB.com.

All that said, I know Luvello had to be pitched out, because he did get past the player.  It's just unseemly a little that Molina took a barrel-house swing at Luvello and got away with it.
I saw the pitch that triggered the argument. It flew past the plate just under the floor of the strike zone. Pollock clearly had a beef with that
pitch, but hitters can question a pitch without getting into an argument. If the manager comes out of the dugout and gets past his player
on a pitch call, he's gone automatically. If Pollock had been next to the dugout when Lovullo came out, Lovullo would have been tossed before
he got anywhere near the ump.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: al_c on April 09, 2018, 09:49:30 pm
I know some Ranger fans who are uhhh  feeling a little deflated right now.

Heh ... I'm assuming you posted this after the opening series? Yeah, that was humbling. But at least it was to the Astros instead of the likes of the Mariners, Angels or A's. Stros are definitely the AL West team to beat again this season. But at least my Rangers took one of the games from your guys.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on April 09, 2018, 10:14:07 pm
I saw the pitch that triggered the argument. It flew past the plate just under the floor of the strike zone. Pollock clearly had a beef with that
pitch, but hitters can question a pitch without getting into an argument. If the manager comes out of the dugout and gets past his player
on a pitch call, he's gone automatically. If Pollock had been next to the dugout when Lovullo came out, Lovullo would have been tossed before
he got anywhere near the ump.

My point was, that ump had been calling the framed pitches (even ones further out than that one) all the way up to that point.  It wasn't the one pitch that created the argument.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on April 10, 2018, 12:03:56 am
Heh ... I'm assuming you posted this after the opening series? Yeah, that was humbling. But at least it was to the Astros instead of the likes of the Mariners, Angels or A's. Stros are definitely the AL West team to beat again this season. But at least my Rangers took one of the games from your guys.

The Astros are in Minnesota tonight, and the last time I checked, it was 36 degrees there.
That's cold! With Verlander throwing in the mid 90's, that could be a painful at bat for the opposition.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on April 10, 2018, 03:49:47 am
Just asking this:

Has anyone seen the new pitcher for the Angels pitch?  He is outrageous!  Twice pitching, and 12 strikeouts both times.  Plus the guy can hit!  Three homers already.  Records will be made with this player.  His name is Shohei Ohtani. He made player of the week with Jameson Tallon.  Ohtani is all of 23 years old.

Watch out Astros!

 :whistle:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: dfwgator on April 10, 2018, 04:33:40 am
Heh ... I'm assuming you posted this after the opening series? Yeah, that was humbling. But at least it was to the Astros instead of the likes of the Mariners, Angels or A's. Stros are definitely the AL West team to beat again this season. But at least my Rangers took one of the games from your guys.

Rangers need to fire John Daniels and everybody else on down. 
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on April 10, 2018, 04:44:01 am
Heh ... I'm assuming you posted this after the opening series? Yeah, that was humbling. But at least it was to the Astros instead of the likes of the Mariners, Angels or A's. Stros are definitely the AL West team to beat again this season. But at least my Rangers took one of the games from your guys.
You gotta grant us a little trash talk, after you guys beat us like a drum for our first four years in the AL.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on April 10, 2018, 01:01:45 pm
@DCPatriot
Your boy Max Scherzer had a heck of game last  night.
 :beer:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Machiavelli on April 10, 2018, 02:56:00 pm
Just asking this:

Has anyone seen the new pitcher for the Angels pitch?  He is outrageous!  Twice pitching, and 12 strikeouts both times.  Plus the guy can hit!  Three homers already.  Records will be made with this player.  His name is Shohei Ohtani. He made player of the week with Jameson Tallon.  Ohtani is all of 23 years old.

Watch out Astros!

 :whistle:

@Slip18

He's amazing. Here's his record: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/ohtansh01.shtml (https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/ohtansh01.shtml)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on April 10, 2018, 03:26:04 pm
@DCPatriot
Your boy Max Scherzer had a heck of game last  night.
 :beer:

 :beer:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 10, 2018, 04:04:26 pm
Just asking this:

Has anyone seen the new pitcher for the Angels pitch?  He is outrageous!  Twice pitching, and 12 strikeouts both times.  Plus the guy can hit!  Three homers already.  Records will be made with this player.  His name is Shohei Ohtani. He made player of the week with Jameson Tallon.  Ohtani is all of 23 years old.

Watch out Astros!

 :whistle:
@Slip18
@Machiavelli
Out in southern California and in my neck of the desert we call him Shohtime.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: TomSea on April 10, 2018, 04:12:00 pm
Quote
Chuck Connors: He played in Cuba before “The Rifleman”
April 10, 2018 by Silvio Canto Jr.   

(http://78.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lbo9g6nEq91qb7wceo1_500.jpg)

We remember Chuck Connors who was born on this day in 1921 and died in 1992.

We remember Chuck Connors for that wonderful western, “The rifleman”.   In fact, I try to watch it every Saturday morning. The show was on from 1958 to 1963.

Before the rifle, he played baseball. His career was brief or a just two major league seasons: 1949 Dodgers & 1951 Cubs.

http://cubanbeisbol.com/post/12626032772/chuck-connors-mears (http://cubanbeisbol.com/post/12626032772/chuck-connors-mears)
https://babalublog.com/2018/04/10/chuck-connors-he-played-in-cuba-before-the-rifleman/ (https://babalublog.com/2018/04/10/chuck-connors-he-played-in-cuba-before-the-rifleman/)

Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: al_c on April 10, 2018, 06:26:52 pm
You gotta grant us a little trash talk, after you guys beat us like a drum for our first four years in the AL.

Trash away ... it's well deserved and well earned. With the Stros being my 2nd favorite team, I can take it.  :beer:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: al_c on April 10, 2018, 06:27:47 pm
Rangers need to fire John Daniels and everybody else on down.

Daniels needs to be the first escorted out the door. Forcefully and painfully. Maybe with a swift kick in the arse.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on April 10, 2018, 07:57:56 pm
Just asking this:

Has anyone seen the new pitcher for the Angels pitch?  He is outrageous!  Twice pitching, and 12 strikeouts both times.  Plus the guy can hit!  Three homers already.  Records will be made with this player.  His name is Shohei Ohtani. He made player of the week with Jameson Tallon.  Ohtani is all of 23 years old.

Watch out Astros!

 :whistle:

Ain't skeered.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on April 10, 2018, 08:43:15 pm
Ain't skeered.

"If it bleeds....we can kill it!"

That's a famous quote by Bryce Harper, isn't it?     :laugh:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: dfwgator on April 10, 2018, 08:47:11 pm
Daniels needs to be the first escorted out the door. Forcefully and painfully. Maybe with a swift kick in the arse.

I don't care what anybody says,  Nolan Ryan leaving the Rangers organization was a disaster.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: al_c on April 10, 2018, 09:07:41 pm
I don't care what anybody says,  Nolan Ryan leaving the Rangers organization was a disaster.

 :amen:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 10, 2018, 10:18:04 pm
"If it bleeds....we can kill it!"

That's a famous quote by Bryce Harper, isn't it?     :laugh:
@DCPatriot
Arnold Schwarzenegger, from Predator.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on April 10, 2018, 10:43:35 pm
@DCPatriot
Arnold Schwarzenegger, from Predator.

LOL!   I was well aware of that.

Go NATS!!   Hopefully this is their year.

Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 10, 2018, 10:57:00 pm
LOL!   I was well aware of that.
I would have expected Harper or the since-departed Jayson Werth to have said, When it comes to children, I admire the filial
practises of the barracuda---they
eat their young!

(Extra credit if you know who really said it!)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on April 10, 2018, 11:03:01 pm
Ain't skeered.

This Astros fan views the Halos  :

1. Has the best baseball player on the planet.  But he is only one player
2. Phenom who may or may not pan out in the long run
3. An aging player who used to be the best player on the planet who is now breaking their bank.
4. Does anyone else play for the Angels?

Now if you want to talk about how good my team is..........
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on April 12, 2018, 01:25:26 pm
This Astros fan views the Halos  :

1. Has the best baseball player on the planet.  But he is only one player
2. Phenom who may or may not pan out in the long run
3. An aging player who used to be the best player on the planet who is now breaking their bank.
4. Does anyone else play for the Angels?

Now if you want to talk about how good my team is..........

My nephew is an Angels fan, so I do follow them.

Ummmm, I believe they just took the Astros out of first place in the ALW last night.

I did root for the Astros last year in the World Series versus the Dodgers...

 :seeya:

Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on April 12, 2018, 01:52:58 pm
Any thoughts on the wild and crazy night for baseball last night, @EasyAce ?
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 12, 2018, 03:02:28 pm
Any thoughts on the wild and crazy night for baseball last night, @EasyAce ?
I have a few . . . crowned by the fact that my New York Mets and my Boston Red Sox are what ol' Red Barber used to call
tearin' up the pea patch. You can even try no-hitting the Mets and they find a way to win now. And my Los Angeles Angels
ain't doing too bad, either!

What a difference a lack of disabled list makes.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 12, 2018, 03:03:44 pm
And where did Javier Baez rediscover his power stroke? ;)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 12, 2018, 03:10:30 pm
As for the two basebrawl games:

* Tyler Austin (Yankees) did try a dirty play on that slide into second where Brock Holt (Red Sox) wasn't even thinking
of going for a double play. What a shock that he was liable to be brushed back later in the game.

* The least surprising brushback had to be Nolan Arrenado getting one behind his back, considering his Rockies
were throwing a little too often at the Padres over a couple of games' worth.

* Aaron Judge shows himself this generation's Frank Howard---the gentle giant. During the Yankee-Red Sox scrum,
after Joe Kelly brushed back Austin, Judge managed to wrap Kelly up in a head-and-shoulder lock and escort him away
from the brouhaha with a big grin. Of course Judge only looks like he could crush your skull between two
fingertips, just like Frank Howard looked like half an offensive line by himself.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on April 12, 2018, 03:18:20 pm
As for the two basebrawl games:

* Tyler Austin (Yankees) did try a dirty play on that slide into second where Brock Holt (Red Sox) wasn't even thinking
of going for a double play. What a shock that he was liable to be brushed back later in the game.

* The least surprising brushback had to be Nolan Arrenado getting one behind his back, considering his Rockies
were throwing a little too often at the Padres over a couple of games' worth.

* Aaron Judge shows himself this generation's Frank Howard---the gentle giant. During the Yankee-Red Sox scrum,
after Joe Kelly brushed back Austin, Judge managed to wrap Kelly up in a head-and-shoulder lock and escort him away
from the brouhaha with a big grin. Of course Judge only looks like he could crush your skull between two
fingertips, just like Frank Howard looked like half an offensive line by himself.

Agreed, I'll have to take your word for it because I haven't been watching that series, and agreed.
 :beer:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on April 12, 2018, 03:37:27 pm
Most of the snakes are healthy.  Lamb and Peralta are out, but due back any day.  Relief Pitcher Delgado is headed to Minor League rehab.  It's nice to see so few DLs, it seemed the past few years we were always out some of our best talent coming out of Spring Training.  Only Right Fielder Souza remains injured from ST.

Pitcher Shelby Miller is out for quite a while with Tommy John surgery, maybe back before All-Star, but I doubt it.


Watching Ahmed and Lamb playing is great.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on April 12, 2018, 06:10:02 pm


Ummmm, I believe they just took the Astros out of first place in the ALW last night.



Almost 150 to go.  If you can find anyone who will do a straight up bet and says the LAA wins ALW over the Astros, let me know. :cool:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on April 12, 2018, 06:12:31 pm


Ummmm, I believe they just took the Astros out of first place in the ALW last night.



 :seeya:

I'd be surprised if it holds up.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: al_c on April 13, 2018, 03:12:30 pm
Any thoughts on the wild and crazy night for baseball last night, @EasyAce ?

As if things weren't bad enough for my Rangers ... that Elvis injury is going to make things even worse.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: al_c on April 13, 2018, 03:14:08 pm
Almost 150 to go.  If you can find anyone who will do a straight up bet and says the LAA wins ALW over the Astros, let me know. :cool:

 :rolling: :silly:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on April 14, 2018, 02:28:59 am
Gerrit  Cole strikes out 11, 11, and 14 in first three starts as an Astro.  I'll take it!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 14, 2018, 02:40:31 am
Meanwhile, that'll be my New York Mets sitting with the best record in baseball so far . . . 11-1 (.917) . . . (they beat the Brewers
6-5 this evening) . . .

Emphasis on so far . . .
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on April 14, 2018, 04:07:41 am
Gerrit  Cole strikes out 11, 11, and 14 in first three starts as an Astro.  I'll take it!

Helluva start for Mr. Cole.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on April 14, 2018, 04:09:53 am
As if things weren't bad enough for my Rangers ... that Elvis injury is going to make things even worse.

Oh, man!
Elvis, Odor, and DeSheilds?

Ouch!

True, I am an Astros fan, but I hate see this.
I like to see everyone at their best.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: TomSea on April 15, 2018, 06:04:57 am
I saw this headline earlier:

Quote
Cubs score 9 in 8th on just 3 hits, rally past Braves 14-10

...

The Cubs scored nine runs — all with two outs — during a loony eighth inning in which they had only three hits. The Braves did their part with five walks, two hit-by-pitches, a wild pitch and an error.

Continued at: https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/cubs-score-9-in-8th-on-just-3-hits-rally-past-braves-14-10/

I was wondering how they did it, still, pretty amazing.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on April 15, 2018, 03:33:05 pm
Snakes pulling ahead of the NLW, 11-3, Rockies 4 back.  Meh.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: TomSea on April 15, 2018, 08:19:02 pm
I wonder what the most walks allowed in an inning are, for both teams and for just one team.

7 walks, the Cubs got in that one inning, I doubt if I've ever watched a game with more than 4 walks given to one team in one inning.  It really must have been wild.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 15, 2018, 10:52:00 pm
I wonder what the most walks allowed in an inning are, for both teams and for just one team.

7 walks, the Cubs got in that one inning, I doubt if I've ever watched a game with more than 4 walks given to one team in one inning.  It really must have been wild.
@TomSea
They fell three short of the major league record---11. The Washington Senators (as in the old saw, "Washington---First in war, first in peace, and last in the American
League) walked 11 Yankees in the third inning of a 1949 game. This year's Cubs also fell two short of the National League record, set in 1957 when a very different
collection of Cub pitchers walked nine Reds in the fifth inning of a game.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: TomSea on April 15, 2018, 11:21:16 pm
Thanks @EasyAce

I did spend a little time looking for that statistic.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on April 16, 2018, 01:32:43 am
Is anyone watching Astros-Rangers tonight?
44 yr old Colon perfect through 5
Verlander, only one hit, but it was a solo home run.
1-0 Rangers.
Wow!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 16, 2018, 01:50:41 am
Is anyone watching Astros-Rangers tonight?
44 yr old Colon perfect through 5
Verlander, only one hit, but it was a solo home run.
1-0 Rangers.
Wow!
Tortilla Fats through seven innings: Nineteen first-pitch strikes; twenty called strikes out of 45 total not counting
strikes put into play by the hitter; no hits through seven; no walks through seven, seven punchouts.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on April 16, 2018, 01:53:05 am
Tortilla Fats through seven innings: Nineteen first-pitch strikes; twenty called strikes out of 45 total;
no hits through seven; no walks through seven, seven punchouts.

Yep, going into the 8th now.
On paper, I figured an Astros win.
Ranger fans can be glad they don't play on paper.
Astro fans like me, wished they would have tonight.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 16, 2018, 02:05:13 am
There went the perfecto . . . Carlos Correa walked with nobody out.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on April 16, 2018, 02:06:49 am
Still a no-hitter, but no longer perfect.
Colon walked the lead off hitter in the 8th, Carlos Correa.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 16, 2018, 02:07:49 am
 . . . and there went the no-no . . . Josh Reddick doubled for second and third and nobody out.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on April 16, 2018, 02:08:17 am
There went the perfecto . . . Carlos Correa walked with nobody out.

...and now threatening.

2nd & 3rd, now out.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 16, 2018, 02:10:07 am
. . . and there went the shutout, Yuli Gurriel tied it at one with a sacrifice fly.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on April 16, 2018, 02:10:20 am
... and we're tied.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on April 16, 2018, 02:13:26 am
Colon pulled.
Nice job, (Dang it, Lol).
Seriously, great outing.
Got a hand from the Houston crowd, too.
Well deserved.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on April 16, 2018, 02:21:05 am
Devo in for Verlander.

I love this!

I'm old school, give me a pitching duel, any day.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on April 16, 2018, 02:25:26 am
For those who may not know, the Rockets and Astros are within walking distance of each other.
Astros and Rockets playing a playoff game at the same time.
Glad I am at home in Sugar Land, even though this game is great.
I think that if I tried to leave downtown when this was over, it could be after midnight when I got home.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 17, 2018, 02:27:21 am
Malaprop of the year so far, during the Nationals-Mets game in New York.

Bryce Harper batting against Jacob deGrom, top of the first, and hitting one over the right center field fence.

The announcer's call: "And Lobaton setting up inside---[Harper swings, connects, the bat breaks on impact]---the barrel of the bat
flew all the way to the screen and look at this! See. you. later!"

That was Herb Score and Jerry Coleman (notorious baseball broadcast malaproprietors) having a hearty laugh as well as a hearty belt
at their seats in the Elysian Fields . . .

(https://scontent.flas1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/30707802_10155845481577912_9062270326137683968_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=7d102a3b4765ea742e0fca97b888b808&oe=5B6529A7)
Title: Ranking All 30 Of MLB's Ballparks: First To Worst [2018]
Post by: Machiavelli on April 17, 2018, 09:48:10 pm
Maury Brown
Forbes
March 19, 2018

Quote
... Fans will flock to all 30 of MLB’s ballparks from Opening Day until the dog days of summer shift into fall. While taking in baseball is a bonding experience for friends and family over the summer, not all ballparks in the league are created equal...

Below is the ranking of all 30 ballparks in Major League Baseball. It includes the year they opened, type of roof (or lack thereof), design type, and primary architect.

More (https://www.forbes.com/sites/maurybrown/2018/03/19/ranking-all-30-of-mlbs-ballparks-first-to-worst/)

(https://i.imgur.com/vMbWkup.jpg)
Title: Re: Ranking All 30 Of MLB's Ballparks: First To Worst [2018]
Post by: mountaineer on April 17, 2018, 10:09:08 pm
I've been to numbers 4,5,8 and 10. Not sure the KC stadium was that great, but certainly enjoyed the others.
Title: Re: Ranking All 30 Of MLB's Ballparks: First To Worst [2018]
Post by: Machiavelli on April 17, 2018, 10:14:59 pm
I've been only to #4 and #25.
Title: Re: Ranking All 30 Of MLB's Ballparks: First To Worst [2018]
Post by: WingNot on April 17, 2018, 10:24:17 pm
Where is the Poll?

corbe could do a poll for Christs sake. 
Title: Re: Ranking All 30 Of MLB's Ballparks: First To Worst [2018]
Post by: Machiavelli on April 17, 2018, 10:40:09 pm
Where is the Poll?

corbe could do a poll for Christs sake.

Anyone can do a poll.
Title: Re: Ranking All 30 Of MLB's Ballparks: First To Worst [2018]
Post by: WingNot on April 17, 2018, 10:49:44 pm
Anyone can do a poll.

Everyone except you.
Title: Re: Ranking All 30 Of MLB's Ballparks: First To Worst [2018]
Post by: Machiavelli on April 17, 2018, 10:55:45 pm
Everyone except you.

I've done quite a few polls here.
Title: Re: Ranking All 30 Of MLB's Ballparks: First To Worst [2018]
Post by: mountaineer on April 17, 2018, 11:25:06 pm
I went to many games at the original Busch Stadium in St. Louis and was sorry to see it go.
Title: Re: Ranking All 30 Of MLB's Ballparks: First To Worst [2018]
Post by: jmyrlefuller on April 18, 2018, 03:16:39 pm
Summary:
Retro-classic: good.
Retro-modern: meh.
Modern: bad.
Multipurpose: worst.
Title: Re: Ranking All 30 Of MLB's Ballparks: First To Worst [2018]
Post by: Polly Ticks on April 18, 2018, 04:42:34 pm
Quote
As with any ranking, it’s a subjective assessment, and which teams I have in certain places may not match your picks.
[...snip...]
For my methodology, I looked at the overall aesthetics of the ballpark design, including integration with additional structures, such as in Baltimore and San Diego; its setting; the visuals from within the seating bowl or surrounding views; the amenities offered at the facility; historic relevance; and external development that adds to the experience.

Subjective, indeed.

Personally, I'd submit that SunTrust Park should rank at the top, just because my favorite team plays there.
 :laugh:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on April 18, 2018, 07:13:53 pm
Quote
ATLANTA -- Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos saw Jose Bautista become one of baseball's top power hitters while they were together in Toronto. Now, he's going to give the veteran slugger a chance to extend his career by proving he can play third base.

Essentially, the Braves are taking a risk-free chance on Bautista, who signed a Minor League deal on Wednesday with the understanding he will only play third base as he attempts to make his way to the Major League level. A source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand that Bautista will earn $1 million if he reaches the bigs. He'll spend time at the team's Spring Training facility before being assigned to a Minor League affiliate.

Braves ink Joey Bats to be 3B on Minors deal (https://www.mlb.com/braves/news/braves-sign-jose-bautista-to-minor-league-deal/c-272748098)

Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Machiavelli on April 18, 2018, 10:24:27 pm
Tigers’ Matt Boyd continues historic start to season (https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2018/04/18/tigers-matt-boyd-continues-historic-start-season/33964497/)
Title: Re: Ranking All 30 Of MLB's Ballparks: First To Worst [2018]
Post by: Machiavelli on April 18, 2018, 10:33:28 pm
Summary:
Retro-classic: good.
Retro-modern: meh.
Modern: bad.
Multipurpose: worst.

@jmyrlefuller or anyone else, IE @EasyAce :

What are your definitions of the differences between retro-classic, retro-modern, and modern? (we probably understand multipurpose)
Title: Re: Ranking All 30 Of MLB's Ballparks: First To Worst [2018]
Post by: EasyAce on April 18, 2018, 11:31:27 pm
@jmyrlefuller or anyone else, IE @EasyAce :

What are your definitions of the differences between retro-classic, retro-modern, and modern? (we probably understand multipurpose)
Retroclassic---Camden Yards, Citi Field, Yankee Stadium, etc.
Retromodern---Safeco Field, etc. (retractable roof), Minute Maid Park (likewise)
Modern---Probably still Rogers Centre and Tropicana (choke) Field.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: TomSea on April 19, 2018, 01:29:04 am
I didn't see it but White Sox at Athletics, goes 14 innings, Athletics win, 12-11. Sounds like quite a game.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 19, 2018, 02:21:58 am
Regarding the poll: I spend a charming wayward youth going to Shea Stadium several times a season until I left the New York
area for good. I've also seen games in old-old Yankee Stadium (both the House that Ruth Built and the House That Ruth-
less Rebuilt, a.k.a the upgraded old Yankee Stadium), and old Tiger Stadium (in 1998, field-level seats right down the left field
line).
Title: Re: Ranking All 30 Of MLB's Ballparks: First To Worst [2018]
Post by: jmyrlefuller on April 19, 2018, 02:55:59 am
@jmyrlefuller or anyone else, IE @EasyAce :

What are your definitions of the differences between retro-classic, retro-modern, and modern? (we probably understand multipurpose)
Multipurpose, of course, is a facility built for more than one sport (usually football in addition to baseball). Purists hate them, but they're efficient, uniform and simple.

Retro-classics are the stadiums that try to follow the basic design templates of the early 20th century. They tend to be quirky, which is why ballpark purists and more artistic types tend to like them.

Modern stadiums, well, they could be anything. They're not as uniform as the multipurpose stadiums, but unlike the retro-classics that were designed that way because the old ballparks had to be shoe-horned into a weird property lot or because construction technology wasn't what it is today, modern stadiums tend to have more avant-garde and state-of-the-art designs, art for art's sake if you will.

Retro-moderns are halfway between retro-classic and modern, taking elements of both styles.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on April 19, 2018, 03:02:18 am
The problem I have with the Multi-purpose is, that's how you get a 315 Left Field wall, and a 500 Right Field.

Friend of mine once described the attempt in the 70-80's to make "cookie-cutter" parks, to standardize the size and shapes of the playing fields.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on April 19, 2018, 05:17:15 pm
The first time I went to an Angers game, the stands stopped at the foul poles.
No outfield seats.
Beyond the outfield was a parking lot.
They had the Big A up then.
It went through a lot of changes since then.

While I've been to many games at the Ballpark at Union Station/Enron/Minute Maid and the Astrodome in my home environs, my first major league ball game was Nolan Ryan starting for the Angels, in the stadium I describe above.

I went to see the Texas Rangers in Arlington before Minute Maid was built, to see what a retro-type stadium would look like.
It was labor day and I got a pretty good sunburn, LOL.

I saw a decent pitchers duel in Dodger stadium in the 1970's also.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on April 19, 2018, 10:59:36 pm
Did you see that bonehead Gattis play today?  Grounded into a triple play by straying off first after thinking erroneously that 3rd out was made.

 9999hair out0000

! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfaH6DhX4oQ#)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 20, 2018, 12:28:30 am
Did you see that bonehead Gattis play today?  Grounded into a triple play by straying off first after thinking erroneously that 3rd out was made.

 9999hair out0000

! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfaH6DhX4oQ#)
Meathead!

! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM8RbPgheT4#)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 20, 2018, 12:31:57 am
I saw a decent pitchers duel in Dodger stadium in the 1970's also.
The first time I went to Dodger Stadium was in 2000. And I was astonished at one thing I saw---dozens of fans carrying
portable television sets with the picture off but the sound on . . . because, apparently, even though they were in the
ballpark they still wouldn't accept what they were seeing unless they heard it from Vin Scully. So there I was with
my young son, watching the game live and in person and still hearing Vin Scully calling the game. (He was on television
all nine innings; radio by then was only simulcasting his first three innings before handing off to the other Dodger
broadcasters on radio only.)

It was amazing. But that's how much credibility Scully still had . . . and would keep until the day he retired at last.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on April 20, 2018, 03:49:22 pm
The first time I went to Dodger Stadium was in 2000. And I was astonished at one thing I saw---dozens of fans carrying
portable television sets with the picture off but the sound on . . . because, apparently, even though they were in the
ballpark they still wouldn't accept what they were seeing unless they heard it from Vin Scully. So there I was with
my young son, watching the game live and in person and still hearing Vin Scully calling the game. (He was on television
all nine innings; radio by then was only simulcasting his first three innings before handing off to the other Dodger
broadcasters on radio only.)

It was amazing. But that's how much credibility Scully still had . . . and would keep until the day he retired at last.

Oh yeah, back when he was radio full-time, many people would bring transistor radios in.
I remember that.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: TomSea on April 20, 2018, 04:10:07 pm
Ex-NFL lineman sells Mickey Mantle rookie year baseball card for $2.88 million.
http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/1952-mickey-mantle-card-auction-sale-price-evan-mathis-nfl-broncos-eagles/rtmniiew71x1179oaycv51sg1 (http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/1952-mickey-mantle-card-auction-sale-price-evan-mathis-nfl-broncos-eagles/rtmniiew71x1179oaycv51sg1)

Really, unbelievable.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 20, 2018, 04:32:18 pm
Oh yeah, back when he was radio full-time, many people would bring transistor radios in.
I remember that.
When the Dodgers played their first four Los Angeles seasons in the old, ridiculous Coliseum, the transistor radios were a necessity if people
had seats in the rear of the place . . . because they could barely see what was happening on the (alleged) field. Then, from all appearances,
it looked like they kept the practise in Dodger Stadium just because . . . well, it was Scully. Politicians only dream of that kind of
credibility.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on April 22, 2018, 01:04:19 am
Matt Harvey not happy about being taken out of the Mets' starting rotation (http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/23278540/matt-harvey-loses-spot-new-york-mets-starting-rotation)

Quote
New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey has lost his spot in the starting rotation, manager Mickey Callaway announced Saturday.

Harvey, who will be available coming out of the bullpen starting Tuesday, was not happy about the decision.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 22, 2018, 01:22:28 am
Matt Harvey not happy about being taken out of the Mets' starting rotation (http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/23278540/matt-harvey-loses-spot-new-york-mets-starting-rotation)
@Polly Ticks
I wrote about the prospect Friday but I didn't post it up on the forum. Here it is:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Harvey Agonistes (https://throneberryfields.blogspot.com/2018/04/harvey-agonistes.html)

Last fall, playing out an injury-compromised season also marked by self-immolation over a fractured would-be romance, Matt Harvey
showed what some would call rare introspection after the Cubs used him as a personal pinata, battering him for five runs en route a
17-5 demolition. The one-time Dark Knight didn't just fall on his sword, he swallowed it whole.

"[W]ith the injuries I've had, some of the other outside distractions that I have caused, which I am not proud of," Harvey told a New
York Daily News
writer, Kristie Ackert, "it makes those decisions easier for management. It sucks, but it's the way it is. The only thing
I can do is move forward and try to put myself in the best position to help this team win and whatever decisions they make, I will
just have to deal with it."

The season finally wound down for Harvey and the injury-riddled Mess---er, Mets. Harvey himself was among the walking wounded. He
struggled to overcome thoracic outlet syndrome; he all but admitted he was brought to his knees after discovering a girl in whom he
was more than mildly interested returned to her former boyfriend---about which he read in the press.

But his winding-down also included a seven-run, twelve-hit, four-inning beatdown by the Marlins, of all people, in Harvey's following
start. He'd have all winter to re-horse, all spring to figure out how to be a different but still successful pitcher.

As the Mets jumped out of the gates and off to one of the best starts in baseball this season, Harvey's had only a moment or three of
looking like that different but successful pitcher and more moments where he's looked like some other team's target practise.

In his first start this season, Harvey looked like the best part of the pitcher he was going to have to become, a thinking person's
pitcher relying on knowledge and location instead of overpowering pitches. But on Thursday night, Harvey managed---underline that
---to pitch six innings and give relief to the Mets' effective but slightly overworked bullpen.

The problem was, he didn't give relief to the Mets overall. Those weren't exactly six great innings. They weren't even six good ones.
They were barely six mediocre ones.

The Braves tore six runs out of him---including two driven in by former Astro Preston Tucker (The Man and His Dream) en route a
five-steak night---with seven hits in the first three innings. His only strikeout was against Braves starting pitcher Matt Wisler. And
manager Mickey Callaway, the new kid on the block who's been pulling mostly the right strings with the surprising, first-in-the-
National-League-East Mets so far, is just about out of patience.

Callaway let that slip when he told reporters he "couldn't commit" to Harvey's next scheduled start. And Harvey the introspect of
last fall suddenly became Harvey the kid who doesn't understand why everyone's still mad at him for putting his foot through the
neighbour's china closet.

"I'm a starting pitcher," he said after the game Thursday, perhaps with just a little defiance. "I've always been a starting pitcher,
and I think I showed that in the fifth and sixth innings---I can get people out still in the fifth, sixth inning when my pitch count
gets up. So I'm a starting pitcher."

Pitching coach Dave Eiland wouldn't buy that if it came with a discount and a free toaster. "The game starts in the first inning,"
Eiland said flatly, "not the fourth."

Callaway is said to be thinking seriously about moving Harvey to the bullpen for a spell. It wouldn't exactly be a disaster, considering
how much work the pen got out of the chute, to the point where they faltered a few times in the last week or so. They're still the
Show's most effective, but they're not supermen or automatons. And a lapsed starter who can go more than an inning or two would
have to be a salve for them.

Just don't try to convince Harvey just yet. You have an admiration for a man stubborn enough in professional pride to remain convinced
of his job and his purpose, even as you lament that such pride may get in the way of what's best for his organisation.

The Dark Knight is history. But Harvey's dark days are far from over. With realistic hopes of going the distance to the postseason on a
remarkable 13-5 season start, the Mets can't afford anything more dark than a night game. They might empathise with his feeling but
they have to draw the line between empathy and reality. And not be too late.

"That last three innings I think I was able to break through that mental block I was feeling every time I went out there," Harvey said
Thursday night, perhaps turning from defiant to as plaintive as he can get. "I know that the results aren't there. I feel bad that it took
me so long to figure it out."

He and the Mets may feel worse if too long proves to be too little, too late. Callaway has a very hard decision to make.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 22, 2018, 01:24:35 am
@Polly Ticks
Now, I wonder---has anyone on the Braves suggested to young Preston Tucker that he learn a little about
his legendary namesake . . . and maybe even change his uniform number so the back of his jersey reads
TUCKER 48?
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: TomSea on April 22, 2018, 01:58:10 am
Quote
White Sox pitcher Danny Farquhar in critical condition after brain hemorrhage in dugout

Chicago White Sox pitcher Danny Farquhar suffered a brain hemorrhage Friday night and fainted in the dugout during Friday's game against the Houston Astros and is in critical condition, the team announced Saturday.

Farquhar, 31, suffered a ruptured aneurysm that caused the brain bleed, according to the team. He is stable, the team says, but remains in the neurosurgical intensive care unit at RUSH University Medical Center.

The team placed Farquhar on the 10-day disabled list Saturday.

More at: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2018/04/21/danny-farquhar-white-sox-brain-hemorrhage-injury/539363002/ (https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2018/04/21/danny-farquhar-white-sox-brain-hemorrhage-injury/539363002/)

@Cyber Liberty  , I hope he can pull through. Quite tragic. Any comments?
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on April 22, 2018, 02:10:42 am
@Cyber Liberty  , I hope he can pull through. Quite tragic. Any comments?

I don't know him.  But I think he's going to be out longer than 10 days.  That's horrible news!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 22, 2018, 02:12:02 am
I don't know him.  But I think he's going to be out longer than 10 days.  That's horrible news!
That disabled list is a first formality. Unless I'm very wrong they'll move the poor guy to the 60-day list soon enough,
at least as soon as they can call up another pitcher.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on April 22, 2018, 02:15:46 am
That disabled list is a first formality. Unless I'm very wrong they'll move the poor guy to the 60-day list soon enough,
at least as soon as they can call up another pitcher.

Probably.  Was he a starter?
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 22, 2018, 02:42:35 am
Probably.  Was he a starter?
Middle relief pitcher, I think.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on April 22, 2018, 02:55:31 am
I don't know him.  But I think he's going to be out longer than 10 days.  That's horrible news!

Was playing the Astros at the time , so saw live on TV.  Very scary, and gut wrenching.  My prayers to him, his family, and the Sox team
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: dfwgator on April 22, 2018, 03:16:53 am
No-Hitter Alert!!!

Athletics' Sean Manaea Is Pitching a No-Hitter Through Eight Innings.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: dfwgator on April 22, 2018, 03:31:20 am
He Did It!

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DbW1CGbXcAAP7Eo.jpg:large)

A's win 3-0.   Only the Sox third loss.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 22, 2018, 04:19:42 am
He Did It!

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DbW1CGbXcAAP7Eo.jpg:large)

A's win 3-0.   Only the Sox third loss.
It wasn't easy the way the Red Sox have been playing so far.

Congratulations!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on April 22, 2018, 02:04:42 pm
He Did It!

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DbW1CGbXcAAP7Eo.jpg:large)

A's win 3-0.   Only the Sox third loss.

A no hitter is a great accomplishment anytime but doing it against a top flight team is really something!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 22, 2018, 02:05:18 pm
Trivia: Sean Manaea is only the third pitcher to no-hit the Red Sox with ten or more strikeouts. The other two are a pair
of Hall of Famers: Walter Johnson and Jim Bunning. And Manaea's gem was the first time the Red Sox were no-hit in
exactly a quarter of a century.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on April 23, 2018, 01:03:25 pm
Was playing the Astros at the time , so saw live on TV.  Very scary, and gut wrenching.  My prayers to him, his family, and the Sox team
They mentioned it Saturday.
They showed his jersey being hung up on the bullpen fence yesterday, but I didn't hear if they had an update or not.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on April 23, 2018, 01:07:51 pm
Matt Harvey not happy about being taken out of the Mets' starting rotation (http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/23278540/matt-harvey-loses-spot-new-york-mets-starting-rotation)

I saw him last year at Minute Maid park.
He had the unfortunate assignment of having to pitch the 1st game the Astros played at home after after Hurricane.....Harvey.
Yep, they lit him up.

Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on April 23, 2018, 03:01:12 pm
They mentioned it Saturday.
They showed his jersey being hung up on the bullpen fence yesterday, but I didn't hear if they had an update or not.
White Sox pitcher Danny Farquhar in ‘fight of his life’ after procedure to relieve brain swelling (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2018/04/23/white-sox-pitcher-danny-farquhar-in-fight-of-his-life-after-procedure-to-relieve-brain-swelling/?utm_term=.93a676138226)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on April 23, 2018, 05:31:58 pm
White Sox pitcher Danny Farquhar in ‘fight of his life’ after procedure to relieve brain swelling (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2018/04/23/white-sox-pitcher-danny-farquhar-in-fight-of-his-life-after-procedure-to-relieve-brain-swelling/?utm_term=.93a676138226)

Very very sad.  From what I have heard about brain aneuryisms, there is high chance his life will significantly impacted physically and mentally.  Of course at this point the focus is on surviving.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: TomSea on April 24, 2018, 02:17:41 am
White Sox pitcher,  Danny Farquhar who suffered from the brain aneurysm is proceeding well after surgery and talking to doctors and family.  His nickname is "google" per another news story. Hmmmn.

https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/white-sox-rhp-farquhar-progressing-well-after-surgery-042318 (https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/white-sox-rhp-farquhar-progressing-well-after-surgery-042318)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on April 24, 2018, 02:29:10 am
White Sox pitcher,  Danny Farquhar who suffered from the brain aneurysm is proceeding well after surgery and talking to doctors and family.  His nickname is "google" per another news story. Hmmmn.

https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/white-sox-rhp-farquhar-progressing-well-after-surgery-042318 (https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/white-sox-rhp-farquhar-progressing-well-after-surgery-042318)

Excellent news!   888high58888
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on April 25, 2018, 02:18:47 pm
Acuna to make MLB debut for Braves today (https://www.mlb.com/news/ronald-acuna-being-called-up-by-braves/c-273745938)

Quote
Acuna will serve as Atlanta's starting left fielder and attempt to bolster a lineup that has tallied a National League-high 122 runs without him. The five-tool outfielder ranks second only to Angels rookie sensation Shohei Ohtani on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 prospects list.

Just in time for my road trip to Cincy tomorrow to catch a day game.  :0012:
I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do.

Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on April 25, 2018, 02:32:15 pm
Meanwhile, while nobody was looking, the Snakes took the lead for the NL away from the Mets....
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: al_c on April 25, 2018, 08:57:33 pm
As if my Rangers didn't have enough problems ... now Beltre is out with an injury. The season just got longer.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on April 25, 2018, 10:26:19 pm
Just asking this:

Has anyone seen the new pitcher for the Angels pitch?  He is outrageous!  Twice pitching, and 12 strikeouts both times.  Plus the guy can hit!  Three homers already.  Records will be made with this player.  His name is Shohei Ohtani. He made player of the week with Jameson Tallon.  Ohtani is all of 23 years old.

Watch out Astros!

 :whistle:

Got to see him live (on TV) last night against the Astros.
He did throw 100mph and has a good slider.
In the end, neither starter was a factor, both left early.
final Angels 8, Astros 7
Angels did take 2 out of 3.
 Along way to go, so....

Still
Ain't
Skeered.

Ohtani and Trout
and then.....?

I'll have to see more from a few others to be convinced that they can overtake the Astros over a course of a year.
Yet, anything can happen.
That's why they play'em.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on May 03, 2018, 01:34:26 pm
Meanwhile, while nobody was looking, the Snakes took the lead for the NL away from the Mets....

Speaking of toppling the Mets ...

Baby Braves growing up fast, take 1st in NL East (https://www.mlb.com/news/sean-newcomb-pitches-7-shutout-innings/c-274936816)

(http://www.mlb.com/images/2/6/4/224607264/041516_atl_ludacris_med_z4dtwadg.gif)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on May 03, 2018, 04:25:34 pm
Separated at Birth........

(https://i.redd.it/jags810lpdv01.gif)

(http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/714.gif)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on May 03, 2018, 04:34:16 pm
LOL

Yeah, wasn't that a special moment in our Astros history....

 :thud:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on May 03, 2018, 04:38:16 pm
LOL

Yeah, wasn't that a special moment in our Astros history....

 :thud:

Yep, Giles is Nutzoid.  Jung and Freud together couldn't solve his mental issues.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on May 03, 2018, 09:28:02 pm
Astros bullpen just aTAD sucky this homestand.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on May 03, 2018, 09:47:27 pm
Astros bullpen just aTAD sucky this homestand.

Yep, a bit, I'm afraid
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: TomSea on May 07, 2018, 04:38:28 pm
Willie Mays at 87 years old, May 6th was his birthday, so sorry Willie for being one day late...

(https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1600/0*0XCcNi8_w15MkI1j.jpg)

With Tommy Lasorda of all people, when they played for Almendares in Cuba (picture from 1951).

https://babalublog.com/2018/05/06/happy-87-willie-mays-who-played-with-almendares-in-cuba/
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on May 07, 2018, 06:13:14 pm
Willie Mays at 87 years old, May 6th was his birthday, so sorry Willie for being one day late...

(https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1600/0*0XCcNi8_w15MkI1j.jpg)

With Tommy Lasorda of all people, when they played for Almendares in Cuba (picture from 1951).

https://babalublog.com/2018/05/06/happy-87-willie-mays-who-played-with-almendares-in-cuba/ (https://babalublog.com/2018/05/06/happy-87-willie-mays-who-played-with-almendares-in-cuba/)

Willie Mays, Game One, 1954 World Series . . .

(http://www.alabamapioneers.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/willie-mays-1954-world-series-catch.jpg)

Overhead view of the Polo Grounds with notes should amplify even more why that catch was so amazing . . .

Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: TomSea on May 08, 2018, 04:15:25 pm
Games will be played in England in 2019, I saw the headlines.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on May 08, 2018, 04:21:13 pm
I saw that catch 'live' on my grandmother's 13 inch black & white Admiral television    :laugh:

(http://img.etsystatic.com/il/f12330/1107267895/il_570xN.1107267895_nfs7.jpg?version=0)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on May 08, 2018, 04:42:27 pm
I saw that catch 'live' on my grandmother's 13 inch black & white Admiral television    :laugh:

(http://img.etsystatic.com/il/f12330/1107267895/il_570xN.1107267895_nfs7.jpg?version=0)
Wow.

The first TV set in my bedroom when I was a kid was an RCA Victor that looked almost exactly like your grandma's old Admiral. I remember two things most about that RCA set: 1) It had amazingly clear sound volume. 2) It had the longest-fading of the infernal old white dots when you turned it off that I ever saw. Took a full four minutes for the dot to fade!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on May 08, 2018, 04:52:10 pm
Games will be played in England in 2019, I saw the headlines.

That pisses me off.  In '17, the Dbacks and Dodgers played their season opener in Australia, in the middle of March when there were still two weeks of Spring Training.  WTH Baseball decided to do that is beyond me.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: dfwgator on May 09, 2018, 01:58:33 am
NO-HITTER!

Seattle's James Paxton No-Nos the Jays.

Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on May 09, 2018, 02:11:27 am
NO-HITTER!

Seattle's James Paxton No-Nos the Jays.

Congratulations Mr. Paxton!  Quite an accomplishment!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on May 09, 2018, 02:16:00 am
GT....

I know it didn't get much press, but how about Springer last night being the first Astro to go 6-6 in a game.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on May 09, 2018, 02:18:41 am
GT....

I know it didn't get much press, but how about Springer last night being the first Astro to go 6-6 in a game.

And only needed a triple to hit for the cycle as well.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: al_c on May 09, 2018, 04:23:51 pm
NO-HITTER!

Seattle's James Paxton No-Nos the Jays.

I wish my Rangers could get some good pitchers like that. *sigh*
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on May 22, 2018, 12:27:28 pm
Through 68 games our team era is 2.43......   and we are in the AL no less.  Playoffs oughta be fun.

How sick is that!!!!!!

(http://www.milb.com/images/2/0/2/63693202/2013_Astros_Logo_small_b5luigmb.jpg)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on May 22, 2018, 12:46:53 pm
Through 68 games our team era is 2.43......   and we are in the AL no less.  Playoffs oughta be fun.

How sick is that!!!!!!

(http://www.milb.com/images/2/0/2/63693202/2013_Astros_Logo_small_b5luigmb.jpg)

Pretty amazing.
I saw an article suggesting that our starting 5 go down as one of the best in history.

On another note, I am taking a vacation day tomorrow to see the Astros play the Giants, a day game.

Verlaner vs. Samardzija
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on May 22, 2018, 02:15:11 pm
! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiIsRErtbyc#)

Bryce who???   19 year old Juan Soto.


1st major league AB.....1st pitch......GONE!!!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on May 22, 2018, 02:38:32 pm
! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiIsRErtbyc#)

Bryce who???   19 year old Juan Soto.


1st major league AB.....1st pitch......GONE!!!

Nice!

I was in the Astrodome when Will Clark of the Giants (later on the Cardinals) hit his 1st home run on his first at bat off of Nolan Ryan.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on May 22, 2018, 03:54:00 pm
Nice!

I was in the Astrodome when Will Clark of the Giants (later on the Cardinals) hit his 1st home run on his first at bat off of Nolan Ryan.

 888high58888
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on May 22, 2018, 04:20:31 pm
! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiIsRErtbyc#)

Bryce who???   19 year old Juan Soto.


1st major league AB.....1st pitch......GONE!!!
@DCPatriot

Until Soto connected, each league had fifteen players each who hit home runs on the first major league pitch they saw:

National League:
Walter Mueller (Pirates), 1922
Clise Dudley (Dodgers), 1929
Eddie Morgan (Cardinals), 1936
Clyde Vollmer (Reds), 1942
Chuck Tanner (Braves), 1955
Jim Bullinger (Cubs), 1992
Jay Gainer (Rockies), 1993
Chris Richard (Cardinals), 2000
Gene Stechschulte (Cardinals), 2001
Kaz Matsui (Mets), 2004
Adam Wainwright (Cardinals), 2006
Mark Saccomanno (Astros), 2008
Tommy Milone (Nationals), 2011
Starling Marte (Pirates), 2012
Willson Contreras (Cubs), 2016

American League:
Bill LeFebvre (Red Sox), 1938
George Vico (Tigers), 1948
Bert Campaneris (Athletics), 1964
Brant Alyea (Senators), 1965
Don Rose (Angels), 1972
Al Woods (Blue Jays), 1977
Jay Bell (Indians), 1986
Junior Felix (Blue Jays), 1989
Esteban Yan (Devil Rays), 2000
Marcus Thames (Yankees), 2002
Andy Phillips (Yankees), 2004
Kevin Kouzmanoff (Indians), 2006
Daniel Nava (Red Sox), 2010
J.P. Arencibia (Blue Jays) 2010
Eddie Rosario (Twins), 2015

Notes on the above:

* Two of the first-pitch bombardiers did it as pinch hitters. (Phillips and Saccomanno)

* Eight were pitchers. (Dudley, Bullinger, Stechschulte, Wainwright, Milone, LeFebvre, Rose, and Yan)

* The longest span between first-pitch-ever home run hitters in the American League is seventeen years, between George Vico and Bert Campaneris. The longest in the National League is 37, between Tanner and Bullinger.

* Each league has had a first-pitch-ever home run hitter in back-to-back seasons only once.

* In terms of the field position of the player at the time he hit the bomb, every field position is represented on the first-pitch-ever home run list in the American League, but no second basemen or third basemen have ever done it in the National League.

* The National League team with the most first-pitch-ever home run hitters: the Cardinals, with four.

* The American League Team with the most first-pitch-ever home run hitters: the Blue Jays, with three.

* The longest major league career by any first-pitch-ever home run hitter: 20 years. (Bert Campaneris; Jay Bell had an 18-year major league career.)

* The career home run leader all-time among the first-pitch-ever home run hitters so far: Marcus Thames, with 115 before he retired.

* Hall of Famers who've hit home runs on the first major league pitch they ever saw: None.

* Eventual major league managers who hit home runs on the first major league pitch they ever saw: Chuck Tanner.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on May 22, 2018, 04:46:43 pm
@DCPatriot

Until Soto connected, each league had fifteen players each who hit home runs on the first major league pitch they saw:

National League:
Walter Mueller (Pirates), 1922
Clise Dudley (Dodgers), 1929
Eddie Morgan (Cardinals), 1936
Clyde Vollmer (Reds), 1942
Chuck Tanner (Braves), 1955
Jim Bullinger (Cubs), 1992
Jay Gainer (Rockies), 1993
Chris Richard (Cardinals), 2000
Gene Stechschulte (Cardinals), 2001
Kaz Matsui (Mets), 2004
Adam Wainwright (Cardinals), 2006
Mark Saccomanno (Astros), 2008
Tommy Milone (Nationals), 2011
Starling Marte (Pirates), 2012
Willson Contreras (Cubs), 2016

American League:
Bill LeFebvre (Red Sox), 1938
George Vico (Tigers), 1948
Bert Campaneris (Athletics), 1964
Brant Alyea (Senators), 1965
Don Rose (Angels), 1972
Al Woods (Blue Jays), 1977
Jay Bell (Indians), 1986
Junior Felix (Blue Jays), 1989
Esteban Yan (Devil Rays), 2000
Marcus Thames (Yankees), 2002
Andy Phillips (Yankees), 2004
Kevin Kouzmanoff (Indians), 2006
Daniel Nava (Red Sox), 2010
J.P. Arencibia (Blue Jays) 2010
Eddie Rosario (Twins), 2015

Notes on the above:

* Two of the first-pitch bombardiers did it as pinch hitters. (Phillips and Saccomanno)

* Eight were pitchers. (Dudley, Bullinger, Stechschulte, Wainwright, Milone, LeFebvre, Rose, and Yan)

* The longest span between first-pitch-ever home run hitters in the American League is seventeen years, between George Vico and Bert Campaneris. The longest in the National League is 37, between Tanner and Bullinger.

* Each league has had a first-pitch-ever home run hitter in back-to-back seasons only once.

* In terms of the field position of the player at the time he hit the bomb, every field position is represented on the first-pitch-ever home run list in the American League, but no second basemen or third basemen have ever done it in the National League.

* The National League team with the most first-pitch-ever home run hitters: the Cardinals, with four.

* The American League Team with the most first-pitch-ever home run hitters: the Blue Jays, with three.

* The longest major league career by any first-pitch-ever home run hitter: 20 years. (Bert Campaneris; Jay Bell had an 18-year major league career.)

* The career home run leader all-time among the first-pitch-ever home run hitters so far: Marcus Thames, with 115 before he retired.

* Hall of Famers who've hit home runs on the first major league pitch they ever saw: None.

* Eventual major league managers who hit home runs on the first major league pitch they ever saw: Chuck Tanner.

LOL!

My grown sons and my grandchildren tell me all the time that watching a game with me is their favorite thing in the world.

They tell me I have a different eye for the Game...etc..

Next to you, I know sh*t!    888high58888
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on May 22, 2018, 04:53:10 pm
Nice!

I was in the Astrodome when Will Clark of the Giants (later on the Cardinals) hit his 1st home run on his first at bat off of Nolan Ryan.

@DCPatriot

The Will Clark home run I saw was not his 1st pitch, but it was his 1st at bat.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on May 22, 2018, 05:00:25 pm
@DCPatriot

The Will Clark home run I saw was not his 1st pitch, but it was his 1st at bat.

@GrouchoTex

I had 'caught' that in your post.

Still can't get over how many hit HRs in the first pitch they ever saw.

...also how many names weren't that memorable.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on May 22, 2018, 05:07:49 pm
@GrouchoTex

I had 'caught' that in your post.

Still can't get over how many hit HRs in the first pitch they ever saw.

...also how many names weren't that memorable.

Right about that.
A couple of the names were/are good players, but none were big standouts.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on May 22, 2018, 05:41:06 pm
LOL!

My grown sons and my grandchildren tell me all the time that watching a game with me is their favorite thing in the world.

They tell me I have a different eye for the Game...etc..

Next to you, I know sh*t!    888high58888
@DCPatriot
All you got to do is what I did---look it up!  :beer:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on May 24, 2018, 02:18:58 pm
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bs-sp-orioles-jim-palmer-chris-davis-20180524-story.html (http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bs-sp-orioles-jim-palmer-chris-davis-20180524-story.html)

Hall of Famer Jim Palmer offers harsh criticism of Chris Davis on Orioles' postgame broadcast
Jon Meoli

...snip


If you play nowadays, you're going to make a lot of money, if you hit 33 home runs, 47 home runs, 53 home runs and you get a big seven-year deal.

"You've got to throw that away, and you've got to make some adjustments. I don't see anything. I don't see a wider stance, I don't see a closed stance, I don't see him dropping my hands. I don't see anything. And we're seeing the results. He's just in a prolonged slump. You know, they say he works hard. Ehh. He told everybody in spring training that he worked with [hitting coach] Scott Coolbaugh. I asked Scott in spring training, I go, 'Hey, you must have really put in a lot of work.' He goes, 'We didn't work.' So, you know, I don't believe anything.

“I can just look at what's going on. He's slumping. He's really — I mean, he's killing this club. He's not the only guy doing that. It's not all on Chris Davis. Then again, you give up 11 earned runs, it really probably wouldn't have mattered. But he's got to get back on track, and he's got to make some adjustments. If you look at Giancarlo Stanton, he had 59 home runs last year. Chris has hit 53. What did he do midway through the season? He closed his stance, and he ended up hitting, what, 27 home runs in the last two and a half months? So, Chris has got to do something. It's got to change. Whether it will or not, we'll wait and see."

...continued at above link

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on May 24, 2018, 03:42:04 pm
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bs-sp-orioles-jim-palmer-chris-davis-20180524-story.html (http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bs-sp-orioles-jim-palmer-chris-davis-20180524-story.html)

Hall of Famer Jim Palmer offers harsh criticism of Chris Davis on Orioles' postgame broadcast
Jon Meoli

...snip


If you play nowadays, you're going to make a lot of money, if you hit 33 home runs, 47 home runs, 53 home runs and you get a big seven-year deal.

"You've got to throw that away, and you've got to make some adjustments. I don't see anything. I don't see a wider stance, I don't see a closed stance, I don't see him dropping my hands. I don't see anything. And we're seeing the results. He's just in a prolonged slump. You know, they say he works hard. Ehh. He told everybody in spring training that he worked with [hitting coach] Scott Coolbaugh. I asked Scott in spring training, I go, 'Hey, you must have really put in a lot of work.' He goes, 'We didn't work.' So, you know, I don't believe anything.

“I can just look at what's going on. He's slumping. He's really — I mean, he's killing this club. He's not the only guy doing that. It's not all on Chris Davis. Then again, you give up 11 earned runs, it really probably wouldn't have mattered. But he's got to get back on track, and he's got to make some adjustments. If you look at Giancarlo Stanton, he had 59 home runs last year. Chris has hit 53. What did he do midway through the season? He closed his stance, and he ended up hitting, what, 27 home runs in the last two and a half months? So, Chris has got to do something. It's got to change. Whether it will or not, we'll wait and see."

...continued at above link

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
@DCPatriot
The Orioles proved wonderful for the White Sox's morale on Wednesday. The worst offense in the American League baked them 11-1 Wednesday, and with three home runs while they were at it. (One three-run job and a pair of two-run jobs.)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on May 24, 2018, 04:30:54 pm
Here's a nice article on the Astros starting rotation

www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/astros-pitching-sets-impressive-record-is-on-historic-pace/ar-AAxJTBx?li=BBnb7Kz (http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/astros-pitching-sets-impressive-record-is-on-historic-pace/ar-AAxJTBx?li=BBnb7Kz)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on May 24, 2018, 05:36:01 pm
Here's a nice article on the Astros starting rotation

www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/astros-pitching-sets-impressive-record-is-on-historic-pace/ar-AAxJTBx?li=BBnb7Kz (http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/astros-pitching-sets-impressive-record-is-on-historic-pace/ar-AAxJTBx?li=BBnb7Kz)
Things can change between now and October, but I imagine not many teams relish facing our starters right now.  (esp. in a 5 game series)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on May 29, 2018, 12:50:05 pm
So ... Rizzo's slide.  Dirty or not?


Rizzo's slide into catcher stirs Cubs-Bucs debate (https://www.mlb.com/news/anthony-rizzo-slide-stirs-cubs-pirates-debate/c-278692024)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on May 29, 2018, 03:01:59 pm
So ... Rizzo's slide.  Dirty or not?


Rizzo's slide into catcher stirs Cubs-Bucs debate (https://www.mlb.com/news/anthony-rizzo-slide-stirs-cubs-pirates-debate/c-278692024)
@Polly Ticks
A dirty slide, no . . . under the revamped rule, Anthony Rizzo was out of bounds because Pirates catcher Elias Diaz didn't have any foot on the plate and had, in fact, stepped well enough out in front of the plate by the time Rizzo landed. Diaz wasn't blocking the plate before he had the ball in his possession. Until that rule was revamped, Rizzo would have been seen doing only what baserunners had done for generations trying to break up a double play. Rizzo's big mistake was aiming slightly out of the baseline on the inside part of it; he didn't try barreling into Diaz on the slide, never mind trying to plow him flush on without sliding a la Pete Rose v. Ray Fosse, but he did leave the baseline somewhat.

The kicker: if you look closely at the play, Diaz might not have been able to complete the double play anyway, even without the takeout slide---batter Chris Gimenez may have had the play beaten at first base. (Look closely to the first base side after Rizzo slides past Diaz and Diaz throws up the line. Even a clean, unimpeded throw might not have gotten Gimenez; that play would have been close enough to demand a review, too, if the throw didn't go wild past first.) If Rizzo was trying to take Diaz out of the play regardless, it worked, with the throw wild and two Cub runs coming home.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on May 30, 2018, 04:08:07 am
Lesson for Tuesday evening: The Mets' bullpen doesn't always have to torch a stellar Jacob deGrom start. They're perfectly capable of torching the joint when Steven Matz has to leave a game for the fourth inning with an injury, too.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on May 31, 2018, 04:38:01 am
DUCK! DUCK! GOOSE!

! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0GFNp9ElUo#)

(The Tigers have a Rally Goose now---they went on to beat the Angels after the above goosing . . . )
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: WingNot on June 07, 2018, 12:45:54 am
! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DIRLRjxBg8#)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on June 07, 2018, 12:51:49 am
! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DIRLRjxBg8#)

Can't say I blame her.  Do you know what a beer costs at the ballpark??
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on June 07, 2018, 12:58:22 am
Can't say I blame her.  Do you know what a beer costs at the ballpark??
That's what I call a catch! ;)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: WingNot on June 07, 2018, 01:02:59 am
That's what I call a catch! ;)

 :beer:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: TomSea on June 07, 2018, 03:28:02 am
Former Cardinals player, manager Red Schoendienst dies at 95
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/23718274/former-st-louis-cardinals-player-manager-red-schoendienst-dies-95 (http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/23718274/former-st-louis-cardinals-player-manager-red-schoendienst-dies-95)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Suppressed on June 27, 2018, 05:45:37 pm
Aaron Judge playing catch with a fan

http://mediadownloads.mlb.com/mlbam/mp4/2018/06/26/2197031783/1529979684876/asset_1200K.mp4 (http://mediadownloads.mlb.com/mlbam/mp4/2018/06/26/2197031783/1529979684876/asset_1200K.mp4)


From fan perspective

https://i.imgur.com/OiQSBkY.gifv (https://i.imgur.com/OiQSBkY.gifv)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on June 30, 2018, 03:13:50 pm
Washington Nationals:  BA .240   OBP .318   SLG .400   OPS .718

Ranked 10th of 15.

Bryce Harper   BA  .221   OBP .365   SLG .486   OPS.850   WAR 1.4

Dreams of a $400M+ contract are fading fast.

The team ...especially, Harper does not look like they/he's having any fun playing the game right now.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on July 03, 2018, 12:41:45 am
Tonight, Red Sox catcher Sandy Leon, swung at strike 3...on a Max Scherzer pitch that went through his legs.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on July 03, 2018, 01:14:41 pm
Tonight, Red Sox catcher Sandy Leon, swung at strike 3...on a Max Scherzer pitch that went through his legs.

(http://www.mlb.com/images/1/2/0/283962120/070218_wsh_scherzer_k_leon.gif)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on July 03, 2018, 01:59:04 pm
(http://www.mlb.com/images/1/2/0/283962120/070218_wsh_scherzer_k_leon.gif)

In all my years playing and observing The Game....never saw that before!    :laugh:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on July 04, 2018, 02:27:34 pm
What's wrong with the Nationals?

  Eddie Matz  ESPN Senior Writer

   
 

The Washington Nationals are not who we thought they were.

Coming into the season, they were widely projected to go all Fred Astaire and waltz their way to a third straight division title. After all, the club that won 97 games last year was returning almost entirely intact. Cy Young finalists Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg were back to anchor the rotation. Sean Doolittle, Ryan Madson and Brandon Kintzler -- all of whom helped stabilize the bullpen after coming over in midseason trades -- were ready for a full season in D.C. An already good offense led by Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy was supposed to get even better with a healthy Adam Eaton atop the lineup.

(Sound of needle scratching on record.)


...more at:   http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/23992370/wrong-nationals (http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/23992370/wrong-nationals)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on July 11, 2018, 04:53:25 am
Maybe the strangest game ending play I have ever seen.....

https://www.mlb.com/video/tucker-scores-on-error-for-win/c-2257322683?tid=267617572 (https://www.mlb.com/video/tucker-scores-on-error-for-win/c-2257322683?tid=267617572)

https://streamable.com/7pgux#%C2%A0 (https://streamable.com/7pgux#%C2%A0)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on July 11, 2018, 05:41:25 am
Maybe the strangest game ending play I have ever seen.....

https://www.mlb.com/video/tucker-scores-on-error-for-win/c-2257322683?tid=267617572 (https://www.mlb.com/video/tucker-scores-on-error-for-win/c-2257322683?tid=267617572)

https://streamable.com/7pgux#%C2%A0 (https://streamable.com/7pgux#%C2%A0)
@catfish1957
Come an' see my amazin' Mets! I been in this game a hundred years but I see new ways to lose I didn't know were invented yet.---Casey Stengel, to incoming Polo Grounds fans, 1962.

No, Perfesser---you sure didn't see that one, not even on your '62 Mets!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on July 11, 2018, 01:16:43 pm
Maybe the strangest game ending play I have ever seen.....

https://www.mlb.com/video/tucker-scores-on-error-for-win/c-2257322683?tid=267617572 (https://www.mlb.com/video/tucker-scores-on-error-for-win/c-2257322683?tid=267617572)

https://streamable.com/7pgux#%C2%A0 (https://streamable.com/7pgux#%C2%A0)

I know it is for me and all brought to you by my favorite (NOT) relief pitcher EVEA!  Ken Giles!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on July 11, 2018, 01:19:57 pm
I know it is for me and all brought to you by my favorite (NOT) relief pitcher EVEA!  Ken Giles!

After the FU's Giles threw at AJ last night, we might have just witnessed Giles last game as an Astro.  (At least I can hope)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on July 11, 2018, 01:21:02 pm
After the FU's Giles threw at AJ last night, we might have just witnessed Giles last game as an Astro.  (At least I can hope)

I thought I was the only one that noticed!  I'll hope with you!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on July 11, 2018, 01:26:47 pm
I thought I was the only one that noticed!  I'll hope with you!

Details of Gile's tirade is getting more media traction.  I hope Luhnow / Hinch at least give him a 3 or 4 game suspension for this little outburst.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/texas-sports-nation/astros/article/Astros-Balls-Strikes-More-Ken-Giles-questions-13065230.php (https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/texas-sports-nation/astros/article/Astros-Balls-Strikes-More-Ken-Giles-questions-13065230.php)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on July 11, 2018, 01:32:21 pm
Details of Gile's tirade is getting more media traction.  I hope Luhnow / Hinch at least give him a 3 or 4 game suspension for this little outburst.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/texas-sports-nation/astros/article/Astros-Balls-Strikes-More-Ken-Giles-questions-13065230.php (https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/texas-sports-nation/astros/article/Astros-Balls-Strikes-More-Ken-Giles-questions-13065230.php)

Good!  I personally hope the trade his A$$ if they can, put him up on waivers for all I care they can just release the jerk before he causes any REAL trouble!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on July 11, 2018, 01:44:02 pm
Details of Gile's tirade is getting more media traction.  I hope Luhnow / Hinch at least give him a 3 or 4 game suspension for this little outburst.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/texas-sports-nation/astros/article/Astros-Balls-Strikes-More-Ken-Giles-questions-13065230.php (https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/texas-sports-nation/astros/article/Astros-Balls-Strikes-More-Ken-Giles-questions-13065230.php)

Man, I went to bed and the Astros had a 4-1 lead!
I missed the good stuff.
Heard that Bregman hit a 5 foot "shot", the catcher missed the tag and then overthrew 1st base for the winning run to come home.
I guess Giles meltdown is why we went into extra innings.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on July 11, 2018, 01:49:15 pm
Man, I went to bed and the Astros had a 4-1 lead!
I missed the good stuff.
Heard that Bregman hit a 5 foot "shot", the catcher missed the tag and then overthrew 1st base for the winning run to come home.
I guess Giles meltdown is why we went into extra innings.

Yep!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on July 11, 2018, 08:27:02 pm
Yep!

Justice was swift....  (Giles optioned to AAA)

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/houston-astros (https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/houston-astros)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on July 11, 2018, 08:46:41 pm
Justice was swift....  (Giles optioned to AAA)

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/houston-astros (https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/houston-astros)

I wonder who they will call up?
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on July 11, 2018, 08:47:37 pm
I wonder who they will call up?

The article does tell us.

Southpaw Cionel Perez will take his place on the active roster.

Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on July 11, 2018, 09:42:26 pm
Justice was swift....  (Giles optioned to AAA)

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/houston-astros (https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/houston-astros)

 :hands: :hands: :hands:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on August 03, 2018, 03:04:31 am
@EasyAce

See what I mean?

The NATS have won 6  of 8 and while they're doing it against the METS and REDS...they're playing their schedule.  Thank God they're not playing over .500 teams.

But they've not even picked up a half game on either the PHILLIES or BRAVES, who've. in the meantime, traded places in 1st and 2nd place respectively.

Harper is being patient and keeping the line moving.  Hit one about 440 ft tonight.  Moving his BA toward .230.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on August 03, 2018, 03:26:27 am
@EasyAce

See what I mean?

The NATS have won 6  of 8 and while they're doing it against the METS and REDS...they're playing their schedule.  Thank God they're not playing over .500 teams.

But they've not even picked up a half game on either the PHILLIES or BRAVES, who've. in the meantime, traded places in 1st and 2nd place respectively.

Harper is being patient and keeping the line moving.  Hit one about 440 ft tonight.  Moving his BA toward .230.
@DCPatriot
I think the problem Harper had earlier in the season was his timing was a little off. I watched a few games with him. It looked like he wasn't setting comfortably in the box, not getting balanced weight into his swing even when he was hitting the home runs. Remember when he didn't run it out against the Mets last month on that double play grounder? I watched replays of that play. He was about as balanced as the federal budget on that swing, and I'm guessing he probably felt plain disgusted that he had such a terrible swing against a decent pitch to hit. The Harper of last year or the year before would have ripped a line drive out of that one.

I have a feeling the Nats have another move to make---not involving Harper, but involving another pitcher. It looked like Tommy Milhone found what was missing the last couple of years, he pitched very well Wednesday. But I think they make a move for another pitcher shortly. The waiver deadline is 31 August, I think, and they could---could---think about cashing Daniel Murphy in for a starter, now that he's looking healthier and hitting well again. I think the team is mostly solid, and could stay that way if they can get the clubhouse confusion resolved.

You got to admit, Mike Rizzo looks like the second biggest @$$hole in the front offices right now (numero uno just has to be the Astros' Jeff Luhnow)---not because he held onto Harper, but because of his mealy mouth accompanying the trading of Brandon Kintzler (anyone who doesn't believe Kintzler got swapped because Rizzo and/or other Nat officials thought he was the player leaking that the clubhouse was a ball of confusion, offer to sell them a ballpark on the South Pole and you'll get rich) and the way he dumped Shawn Kelley without bothering to get Kelley's side of that "glare" into the dugout. Kelley has said he was looking to see if any help might be forthcoming resolving an apparent contradiction between umps while he worked to Austin Jackson Tuesday night, with one telling him he was in danger of balking and the other telling him to slow it down. (How do you reconcile that to the alleged itch to speed the games up?) And even Dave Martinez said he didn't think Kelley was really trying to show him up.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on August 03, 2018, 01:00:21 pm
Astros/Dodgers this weekend, last year's World Series match up.
Good news:
Correa had his fisrt rehab assignment yesterday in Double A Corpus Christi.
Bad news:
He went 0-2 with 2 strike outs.
Last I heard, reprobate reliever Osuna was supposed to join the team in L.A. this weekend.
We'll see how he's received when the Astros have their next home stand.
Hopefully, this guy is media friendly, as he has a lot of Astros fans he needs to to try and win over.
I will say this, Luhnow made it far more interesting than it had to be, that's for sure.

@EasyAce
As far as Zach Britton went, I understand there was a deal in the works last year that the Orioles blew up at the last minute, which left a bad taste in mouth of the Astro's organization.
I think there was a bit of once-bitten-twice-shy sensation from the Astros this year, leery about trying it again.
One comment I heard was that they were not interested in trading with someone who was going to treat them the way the Orioles did.
Another comment was made that they were not going to go out of their way to "help" the Orioles after the debacle.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on August 03, 2018, 01:44:37 pm

@EasyAce
As far as Zach Britton went, I understand there was a deal in the works last year that the Orioles blew up at the last minute, which left a bad taste in mouth of the Astro's organization.
I think there was a bit of once-bitten-twice-shy sensation from the Astros this year, leery about trying it again.
One comment I heard was that they were not interested in trading with someone who was going to treat them the way the Orioles did.
Another comment was made that they were not going to go out of their way to "help" the Orioles after the debacle.

I have heard other fans of other teams mention that dealing with Angelos family is like dealing with a sleazy used car salesman.   They can keep their crappy team crappy as far as I am concerned.

And on our front...   I have been a huge fan of Luhnow as he has built us up, but this Osuna deal has me shaking my head.  Didn't like it one bit, we don't need that in the clubhouse.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on August 03, 2018, 01:50:13 pm
I have heard other fans of other teams mention that dealing with Angelos family is like dealing with a sleazy used car salesman.   They can keep their crappy team crappy as far as I am concerned.

And on our front...   I have been a huge fan of Luhnow as he has built us up, but this Osuna deal has me shaking my head.  Didn't like it one bit, we don't need that in the clubhouse.

When you have to peddle a slug like Giles you take the most you can get and run!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on August 03, 2018, 02:57:01 pm
I have heard other fans of other teams mention that dealing with Angelos family is like dealing with a sleazy used car salesman.   They can keep their crappy team crappy as far as I am concerned.

And on our front...   I have been a huge fan of Luhnow as he has built us up, but this Osuna deal has me shaking my head.  Didn't like it one bit, we don't need that in the clubhouse.

That's my argument,as well.  The Astros really didn't need Osuna so badly, that it would cause us to question the integrity of the organization.
I've been a huge fan of Luhnow, too.
Hopefully, a one time glitch.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on August 03, 2018, 04:52:03 pm
@EasyAce
As far as Zach Britton went, I understand there was a deal in the works last year that the Orioles blew up at the last minute, which left a bad taste in mouth of the Astro's organization.
I think there was a bit of once-bitten-twice-shy sensation from the Astros this year, leery about trying it again.
One comment I heard was that they were not interested in trading with someone who was going to treat them the way the Orioles did.
Another comment was made that they were not going to go out of their way to "help" the Orioles after the debacle.
@GrouchoTex
I'd heard that about a Britton deal last year. The word was that the Astros were actually willing to cough up Dallas Keuchel in a trade for Britton, but that the Orioles' front office wanted more in the way of prospects coming back as well than the Astros were willing to give up to get him. The Sporting News and others reported then that the Astros put too many prospects on the no-touch list for several teams' tastes including the Orioles. That publication also said this at the time the deal was killed:

(W)hen the Astros thought they had a deal for Britton only to get it nixed after medicals were exchanged it begs the questions: If the Astros were trying to deal players with medical questions were they simply trying to pawn off players in an effort to outsmart their trade partners? Does that really qualify as trying to get a deal done?

Owner Jim Crane certainly wasn't happy about deals not getting done and one in particular that got nixed.

"We had a couple of other deals on the plate," he told ESPN 97.5 Radio in Houston. "They were agreed on in principle. Then medicals were exchanged and they got vetoed at the top."

The problem, though, is that multiple sources have said the deal for Britton with the Orioles never got to the top. This could have been in reference to another trade. So why again would Houston, knowing the Orioles were willing to trade Britton, not offer a good enough deal to get it brought to the owner of the team?


Partial translation: this was one botched deal you couldn't lay at the feet of Orioles owner Peter Angelos. Angelos is nobody's idea of a genius, of course, but this is one you can't enter onto his yellow sheet.

That was last year. This year, when the final full week of July began, it looked like the Astros and the Yankees were running neck-and-neck for Britton. As with last year, Keuchel was in the mix in those talks, with the thought being that the Astros could move Collin McHugh back to the starting rotation since he's been a kind of lost boy in the bullpen. There were a lot of reports in the sporting press saying, too, that the Astros were one of six teams "going all-in" on landing Britton this time around, which meant Britton's price went further up, which meant the Orioles were looking once again for a prospects return in a deal, just as they got when they dealt Manny Machado to the Dodgers. They didn't necessarily want to deal Britton within their division (the Red Sox were also thought to be in the Britton mix; if the Orioles also had thoughts of moving Britton out of the American League entirely, the Cubs showed big interest in him, too) if they could help it, but the right package of prospects would be the clincher.

The Astros still have the prospects to spare. They did as that last full week in July began. They needed Britton more than the Yankees did, whether or not Dallas Keuchel was going to be a factor in a deal this time around. (The Orioles hitting the reset button all the way might still have made Keuchel attractive to them as a rotation anchor and veteran mentor for younger pitching.) The Yankee pen, I say again, was already one of the three deadliest in the American League. They needed Britton about as much as Superman needs cortisone shots. The sole reason, really, for the Yankees to be interested in Britton would have been to keep him away from the Red Sox, a division rival, or the Astros, a likely postseason rival. The only thing to speculate now is that, once again, for who knows what reasons, the Astros weren't willing to part with any prospects despite having them to burn deep. The Yankees likewise have had prospects to spare, deep, and they weren't afraid to deal three of them to get Britton, even if the only thing Britton really did for them on his rental (he's a free agent after the season) is give them a little insurance against the Red Sox, even if the Red Sox right now look like the real beasts in the AL East.

Were there other solid relief options the Astros could have pursued? Yes. They could have gone for Brad Ziegler or Jake Diekman, both of whom ended up with the Diamondbacks. They could have gone for Brandon Kintzler if the Nats were that willing to get rid of what they suspected was a clubhouse whistleblower instead of letting the Nats deal him to the Cubs. They could have gotten Zach Duke from the Twins instead of watch him go to Seattle. They could have gotten another Oriole, Brad Brach---who stepped up to the closer role last year with Britton injured and bagged eleven saves this year before Britton returned, instead of watching the Braves pick him up in a deal.

There was nothing compelling them to settle for Roberto Osuna. Not even the Ken Giles factor. (They could have prodded another trading partner to take Giles as part of the deal on the change-of-scenery line.)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on August 03, 2018, 07:01:00 pm
There was nothing compelling them to settle for Roberto Osuna. Not even the Ken Giles factor. (They could have prodded another trading partner to take Giles as part of the deal on the change-of-scenery line.)

@EasyAce

I agree with this statement.
While they don't have a legitimate rock star closer, they've done okay without one.
The argument could be made that doing nothing would be better than the Osuna deal.
I wonder if it is some ego driven deal, were Luhnow may have scouted him while with the Cardinals, and didn't land him then, and is still stuck on the guy.
I can fathom the reason behind it.

On the Britton front, for what it's worth, the local media had been claiming that the Astros felt that Orioles weren't trading in good faith before, and that they weren't expected to do it again this time around.
As you've written, " There were a lot of reports in the sporting press saying, too, that the Astros were one of six teams "going all-in" on landing Britton this time around, which meant Britton's price went further up, which meant the Orioles were looking once again for a prospects return in a deal, just as they got when they dealt Manny Machado to the Dodgers."
So, the locals could be wrong about it.

I think some of what drives this is part of Crane/Luhnow strategy. They say they don't want to be the next Kansas City/Miami type small market team that gives away the future for immediate results.
On my way to watch a game, Luhnow was on the radio about 2 weeks ago, saying how KC had that 2-3 year run where they brought up everyone that could get them to the top, with nothing left in the tank for later.
It worked, they won a Series, but the last game I saw had only 3-4 starters from the team that had won it in 2015.
After hearing the Luhnow interview, it doesn't surprise me that their list of untouchable prospects may be longer than the teams they are negotiating with would like it to be.


Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on August 03, 2018, 08:07:21 pm
I think some of what drives this is part of Crane/Luhnow strategy. They say they don't want to be the next Kansas City/Miami type small market team that gives away the future for immediate results.
On my way to watch a game, Luhnow was on the radio about 2 weeks ago, saying how KC had that 2-3 year run where they brought up everyone that could get them to the top, with nothing left in the tank for later.
It worked, they won a Series, but the last game I saw had only 3-4 starters from the team that had won it in 2015.
After hearing the Luhnow interview, it doesn't surprise me that their list of untouchable prospects may be longer than the teams they are negotiating with would like it to be.
If the Astros had solid prospects but not a real depth of them, that would be one thing. But their system is deep enough that they could have made a deal for Britton or another close-enough-to-top-shelf relief pitcher with prospects and still not leave the system anywhere near dry. They didn't do all that arduous work rebuilding their system for nothing.

There's another issue to consider in the Osuna deal. Forget for just one moment the baggage he's carrying and consider that he hasn't pitched in three months no matter how good he looked before his arrest and suspension. Now he'll be thrown smack dab into the middle of a pennant race and he may have rust on him. The Astros don't know if they're getting the Osuna who pitched lights out before his arrest and suspension or if they're getting a rusty version who may hurt them on the mound for a long period. Zach Britton had had eight or nine appearances before his trade in which his old form was coming back to him. He was a far better readable entry than Osuna.

Osuna's a risk any way you look at it. The Astro clubhouse was a pretty cohesive one, and a fun loving bunch while they were at it, but the Osuna deal threw a real stink bomb into it. Justin Verlander was only the most vocal about it and even he was forced by the deal to play a wait-and-see game with which he's clearly uncomfortable considering how outspoken he normally is about domestic violence. And, as I've argued elsewhere, Osuna's case is still unresolved one or the other way. Had the Astros waited until after that resolution, and then made a play for Osuna, it could have been read one of two ways:

1) If Osuna is proven guilty, and takes his punishment first, the Astros could deal for him after his punishment is complete and then be seen as willing to give a guy a legitimate second chance.
2) If he's found not guilty, they could have moved for him and borned nothing like the opprobrium with which they were hit (appropriately) by dealing for him now with the case's resolution still not a done deal.

Keep this in mind, too: Luhnow has egg all over his face for proclaiming Osuna's remorsefulness, when Osuna's own attorney told the press he isn't exactly remorseful about the act for which he's accused. That attorney said, and I quote: My client is not remorseful of being guilty of any criminal activity. He's obviously remorseful of the circumstances. I would say he is remorseful for the circumstances in which he finds himself. He isn’t admitting the allegations. He definitely is remorseful in the sense that the circumstances are what they are. None of which suggests Osuna is in the clear or thinks himself in the clear, particularly since he continues to plan pleading not guilty when the case returns to court next month.

And before anybody thinks about playing whatabout regarding this versus, say, a player coming off a suspension involving drugs, keep in mind: A drug abuser hurts himself first. (The dirty little secret of baseball's scandal involving actual or alleged performance-enhancing substances is that most of the players involved in them didn't see considerable statistical spikes and many of those actually saw statistical drops during the times they were believed to have used them. And, yes, you can look it up.) An accused woman beater is being accused of hurting a woman first.

Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on August 03, 2018, 08:16:44 pm
@EasyAce

I should have done a bit more proof reading before I sent my last response.

I meant to say,"I can't fathom the reason behind it".


Lance McCullers also expressed his displeasure with the Osuna deal.
Add mine, too.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on August 03, 2018, 11:39:55 pm
@EasyAce

I should have done a bit more proof reading before I sent my last response.

I meant to say,"I can't fathom the reason behind it".


Lance McCullers also expressed his displeasure with the Osuna deal.
Add mine, too.
@GrouchoTex
I figured that was what you meant!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on August 04, 2018, 04:08:48 pm
Verlander strikes out 14 in the Astros win over the Dodgers last night, 2-1.
Verlaner went 7-2/3rds for the win.
Only 4 hits for both teams, with the Dodgers only run coming on a Peterson lead-off home run.
Springer knocked in the Astros 2 runs.
Rondon closed it, a 4 out save.
Dodgers 1st baseman  Muncey looks like he'll be fun to watch in the future, already tearing the cover off the ball this year.
No Correa or Altuve this series for the Astros.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on August 04, 2018, 04:18:40 pm

Only 4 hits for both teams, with the Dodgers only run coming on a Peterson lead-off home run.

No Correa or Altuve this series for the Astros.

Good win, but if we don't get out of these offensive doldrums we are going to be in trouble.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on August 04, 2018, 04:25:13 pm
Good win, but if we don't get out of these offensive doldrums we are going to be in trouble.

Tell me (NATS) about it....... **nononono*
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on August 04, 2018, 04:27:24 pm
Verlander strikes out 14 in the Astros win over the Dodgers last night, 2-1.
Verlaner went 7-2/3rds for the win.
Only 4 hits for both teams, with the Dodgers only run coming on a Peterson lead-off home run.
Springer knocked in the Astros 2 runs.
Rondon closed it, a 4 out save.
Dodgers 1st baseman  Muncey looks like he'll be fun to watch in the future, already tearing the cover off the ball this year.
No Correa or Altuve this series for the Astros.

As a fan of the snakes, I was glad to see that, it gave us the chance to tie up the top slot in the Western Division.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on August 04, 2018, 05:25:09 pm
Tell me (NATS) about it....... **nononono*

Dang, I hadn't looked that closely at the NL standings for a while. 

Talent alone,  the Nats should make the playoffs.  OTOH, and I don't know how you will take it or respond, but how much of the Nat's woes have to do with Harper's clubhouse presence?

We got a huge argument in our ranks about that issue here after what Osuna might bring. 

Verlander after the Osuna's abuse  event, tweeted a very public FU to him.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on August 04, 2018, 05:52:07 pm
Dang, I hadn't looked that closely at the NL standings for a while. 

Talent alone,  the Nats should make the playoffs.  OTOH, and I don't know how you will take it or respond, but how much of the Nat's woes have to do with Harper's clubhouse presence?

We got a huge argument in our ranks about that issue here after what Osuna might bring. 

Verlander after the Osuna's abuse  event, tweeted a very public FU to him.

Personally, I don't think Bryce Harper is a clubhouse issue.  He WAS a lineup issue. 

Everybody is entitled to a slump at that level.  It's also his long-awaited contract year.  He's been waiting for this season all his life.

So...it's self-induced pressure.

Since the All-Star Break; his not being traded IF they can make a pennant push...he's a completely different man in the batter's box.

I've seen him hit crisply to left field more times since the AS break than the entire 1st half of the season.  Maybe because he sees the rest of the lineup barreling up?  He's not trying to jack everything.

Right now, they have no place to put Ryan Zimmerman except 1st base.  And forget that, since Adams in putting up serious numbers.

And Robles' return will create a jam fielding outfielders.  Who sits?

Michael A. Taylor?  Who runs like a deer?  Pennant contenders need great defense up the middle.  He's more than adequate defensively.
IMO...his swing is too long.  And he's a lousy guesser.   :laugh:

Murphy at 2nd is the weakest link at 2nd.  But right now, the ball looks huge.

All good problems to have.

Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on August 04, 2018, 06:07:41 pm
Dang, I hadn't looked that closely at the NL standings for a while. 

That's OK, nobody does.  Who's led NL West for most of the season?
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on August 04, 2018, 06:38:03 pm
That's OK, nobody does.  Who's led NL West for most of the season?

LOL  Point taken.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on August 04, 2018, 06:41:15 pm
LOL  Point taken.

Even MLB dot com has been ignoring it in their stories, along with the rest of the nation's sports writers.  :shrug:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on August 04, 2018, 07:02:29 pm
Personally, I don't think Bryce Harper is a clubhouse issue.  He WAS a lineup issue. 

Everybody is entitled to a slump at that level.  It's also his long-awaited contract year.  He's been waiting for this season all his life.

So...it's self-induced pressure.

Since the All-Star Break; his not being traded IF they can make a pennant push...he's a completely different man in the batter's box.

I've seen him hit crisply to left field more times since the AS break than the entire 1st half of the season.  Maybe because he sees the rest of the lineup barreling up?  He's not trying to jack everything.
It's like I told you on another thread---he looks like he has the right weight balance in the box now. He seemed to have lost that balance earlier in the season. Maybe part of it was the kind of pressure you put on yourself in a walk year, especially the first one of your career, especially when your name keeps coming up in trade rumours, but when you don't have the balance in the box you don't have the consistent accuracy in the swing, no matter how good you are at reading pitchers and working with what they throw you. Right around the All Star break it looked like Harper was beginning to solve his balance problem. His swings have looked far better since, and he's getting results. He doesn't look awkward in the box. (I suspect the turning point have have begun not long after that incident where he whacked into a double play and didn't run it out---probably out of sheer disgust after doing that with a pitch he'd normally rip for a line drive somewhere.) The biggest point in his favour before that was that he was still sharp enough a thinker in the box to be able to take all those walks and get on base anyway.

Right now, they have no place to put Ryan Zimmerman except 1st base.  And forget that, since Adams in putting up serious numbers.

And Robles' return will create a jam fielding outfielders.  Who sits?

Michael A. Taylor?  Who runs like a deer?  Pennant contenders need great defense up the middle.  He's more than adequate defensively.
IMO...his swing is too long.  And he's a lousy guesser.   :laugh:

Murphy at 2nd is the weakest link at 2nd.  But right now, the ball looks huge.

All good problems to have.
If those are their only problems, they should acquit themselves well enough. But watch out for the Braves. They're an anomaly this year---they don't have an all-or-nothing lineup and they're pains in the ass on the bases. That's why they jumped into a pennant race about a year before they were supposed to.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on August 04, 2018, 08:29:58 pm
It's like I told you on another thread---he looks like he has the right weight balance in the box now. He seemed to have lost that balance earlier in the season. Maybe part of it was the kind of pressure you put on yourself in a walk year, especially the first one of your career, especially when your name keeps coming up in trade rumours, but when you don't have the balance in the box you don't have the consistent accuracy in the swing, no matter how good you are at reading pitchers and working with what they throw you. Right around the All Star break it looked like Harper was beginning to solve his balance problem. His swings have looked far better since, and he's getting results. He doesn't look awkward in the box. (I suspect the turning point have have begun not long after that incident where he whacked into a double play and didn't run it out---probably out of sheer disgust after doing that with a pitch he'd normally rip for a line drive somewhere.) The biggest point in his favour before that was that he was still sharp enough a thinker in the box to be able to take all those walks and get on base anyway.
If those are their only problems, they should acquit themselves well enough. But watch out for the Braves. They're an anomaly this year---they don't have an all-or-nothing lineup and they're pains in the ass on the bases. That's why they jumped into a pennant race about a year before they were supposed to.

LOL!  I'm conflicted because I was an avid O's fan before the NATS showed up.

And IMO, Nick Markakis, who was a Baltimore town fan favorite and now an all-star with the Braves, deserves this stage he's made for himself.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on August 05, 2018, 03:38:44 am
Breaking news . . .

Report: Angels manager Mike Scioscia likely to step down at end of season (http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24287880/mike-scioscia-los-angeles-angels-manager-expected-step-end-season)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on August 05, 2018, 05:00:01 am
Even MLB dot com has been ignoring it in their stories, along with the rest of the nation's sports writers.  :shrug:

Strange season.  NL is a free for all, with only about four teams out of the playoff hunt.

Versus the AL, where pretty much everything is set.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on August 05, 2018, 01:41:23 pm
Strange season.  NL is a free for all, with only about four teams out of the playoff hunt.

Versus the AL, where pretty much everything is set.

True.  In NL Central and West, the fourth place teams are less than 10 GB.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on August 08, 2018, 12:42:57 am
My 'creepy eyes' still work.

Just as I suspected, ...since the All Star Break, 50% of Bryce Harper's hits have been to left-of-dead center field.

He's batting at a .376 clip and seems to have forgotten the shitty first half.


** Creepy eyes is what the Statheads in the Orioles' Usenet newsgroup called it, because I only used statistics to confirm my observations.
It was the Statheads vs the Dugout Boyz.

Dugout Boyz acknowledged the existence and value of team chemistry, which gave Statheads in the group the vapors.  LOL!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on August 08, 2018, 01:48:11 am
My 'creepy eyes' still work.

Just as I suspected, ...since the All Star Break, 50% of Bryce Harper's hits have been to left-of-dead center field.

He's batting at a .376 clip and seems to have forgotten the shitty first half.


** Creepy eyes is what the Statheads in the Orioles' Usenet newsgroup called it, because I only used statistics to confirm my observations.
It was the Statheads vs the Dugout Boyz.

Dugout Boyz acknowledged the existence and value of team chemistry, which gave Statheads in the group the vapors.  LOL!
@DCPatriot

From the All-Star break through the end of play Sunday, Bryce Harper hit .367 with fourteen runs driven in in fifteen games. And from GM Mike Rizzo telling him the day before the non-waiver deadline that he wasn't going anywhere, even though the Nationals could have gotten a delicious haul of prospects back for him, through Sunday again, Harper hit .471 over those six days.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on August 08, 2018, 05:28:31 pm
'Childish Bambino' is one of the greatest teenagers in MLB history
Eddie Matz

[video at link]

WASHINGTON -- That the Washington Nationals were open to trading Bryce Harper speaks volumes.

First and foremost, it speaks to just how disappointing the first half of the season was, for both Harper and the Nats. Second, and almost as importantly, it speaks to just how good Juan Soto has been.

One of the main arguments against trading Harper, an idea that would've seemed blasphemous not too long ago but gained traction as the deadline approached and the Nats continued to hover around the .500 mark, was about this winter: Regardless of whether it made baseball sense, shipping the star right fielder elsewhere -- or even the mere thought of doing so -- might offend him and/or agent Scott Boras and greatly decrease the odds of Harper re-signing with Washington after his current contract expires.

By all accounts, there were no hard feelings around all the trade talk. "He understands this game as good or better than all of us," general manager Mike Rizzo said of Harper last week. "He would think we're not doing our job if we didn't address everything to try and make this organization better."

more at:   http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24309870/juan-soto-face-nats-bryce-harper (http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24309870/juan-soto-face-nats-bryce-harper)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


IMHO, I don't believe he's 'only' 19 years old.  He's built like, and has the eyes of a 25 year old.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on August 09, 2018, 05:13:41 pm
I REALLY hate this stupid "Watch today's game ONLY on Facebook Live!!" thing.
 9999hair out0000
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on August 09, 2018, 05:19:15 pm
I REALLY hate this stupid "Watch today's game ONLY on Facebook Live!!" thing.
 9999hair out0000

You can say that again!  I am so pissed at MLB for this...they write off uncounted viewers, while gaining nothing.

 9999hair out0000 9999hair out0000 9999hair out0000
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on August 09, 2018, 05:22:55 pm
You can say that again!  I am so pissed at MLB for this...they write off uncounted viewers, while gaining nothing.

 9999hair out0000 9999hair out0000 9999hair out0000

I REALLY hate this stupid "Watch today's game ONLY on Facebook Live!!" thing.
 9999hair out0000

(You had to know that was coming!)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on August 09, 2018, 05:25:56 pm
I REALLY hate this stupid "Watch today's game ONLY on Facebook Live!!" thing.
 9999hair out0000

(You had to know that was coming!)

During the season, every team's fans get a taste of this wonderful idea.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on August 09, 2018, 05:31:41 pm
During the season, every team's fans get a taste of this wonderful idea.

Yep. And it stinks!

I pay for MLB.TV because I'm out of market for my team. I watch a solid 85% of their games,  but I feel cheated when they have one of these ridiculous Facebook games.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on August 09, 2018, 06:02:01 pm
Yep. And it stinks!

I pay for MLB.TV because I'm out of market for my team. I watch a solid 85% of their games,  but I feel cheated when they have one of these ridiculous Facebook games.

I'm in-market, so MLB-TV is worthless to me.  Even when I travel out of town to my favorite Casino, it's still considered "in-market" because it's the same county, so it's blacked out. I bought that last year so I could watch there, but I ended up not watching a single game, and MLB refused to refund my money.  That shit's expensive.

FB TV is the equivalent of "No TV" for me.  There doesn't seem to be a source to stream the video for my Fire Stick, either, so it's literally "No TV" at my house.

I hope MLB can buy a clue by next season and strangle this baby in the crib.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: dfwgator on August 21, 2018, 07:02:29 am
The Orioles are officially eliminated from the Post-Season, the earliest elimination in the Divisional Era (since 1969).
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on August 21, 2018, 02:22:13 pm
As I had posted on another thread, the AL west and the NL west are getting interesting.
As an Astros fan, more interesting that I would like.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on August 21, 2018, 02:58:10 pm
As I had posted on another thread, the AL west and the NL west are getting interesting.
As an Astros fan, more interesting that I would like.

I have been wondering if it hasn't been purposefully made so by the league controllers. 
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on August 21, 2018, 03:05:59 pm
I have been wondering if it hasn't been purposefully made so by the league controllers.

Okay, @Bigun, I know you've posted a great piece tying all the players and their connections in the Clinton/Obama/Trump cases, which was wonderful.
Very informative and eye-opening.

C'mon now, this is baseball.
I don't believe the 1919 world series is going on all over again.

However, if anyone can find it, it'll be you.

 :beer:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on August 21, 2018, 03:16:54 pm
Okay, @Bigun, I know you've posted a great piece tying all the players and their connections in the Clinton/Obama/Trump cases, which was wonderful.
Very informative and eye-opening.

C'mon now, this is baseball.
I don't believe the 1919 world series is going on all over again.

However, if anyone can find it, it'll be you.

 :beer:

All I'm going to say is that ticket sales are going to be a lot higher for AL west games going forward than they otherwise would have been.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on August 21, 2018, 03:24:21 pm
All I'm going to say is that ticket sales are going to be a lot higher for AL west games going forward than they otherwise would have been.

True.
I remember during those hundred loss year seasons, I got a lot of free Astros tickets, and couldn't find people wanting to go.
Now, the free tickets have disappeared, and I when I buy tickets, everyone wants to go.

Do you think this Astros will ever settle on a 7th-8th-closer pitching situation?
I know Hinch has a lot of combinations he can throw out there, some (obviously) working better than others.....
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on August 21, 2018, 03:28:43 pm
True.
I remember during those hundred loss year seasons, I got a lot of free Astros tickets, and couldn't find people wanting to go.
Now, the free tickets have disappeared, and I when I buy tickets, everyone wants to go.

Do you think this Astros will ever settle on a 7th-8th-closer pitching situation?
I know Hinch has a lot of combinations he can throw out there, some (obviously) working better than others.....

I know I'm gonna piss people off by saying this, but getting Osuna integrated is the key IMHO.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: dfwgator on August 21, 2018, 03:41:17 pm
I have been wondering if it hasn't been purposefully made so by the league controllers.

There's a real chance that an AL team could miss the post-season and have a better record than any NL team.  Right now Seattle would have the best record in the NL, but they would be out of the AL Playoffs.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on August 21, 2018, 07:12:05 pm
I know I'm gonna piss people off by saying this, but getting Osuna integrated is the key IMHO.
@Bigun
The news just came out---A.J. Hinch named Roberto Osuna the primary closer down the stretch.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on August 21, 2018, 07:14:48 pm
@Bigun
The news just came out---A.J. Hinch named Roberto Osuna the primary closer down the stretch.

Thanks @EasyAce!   I hope it works out for the team.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on August 21, 2018, 07:18:02 pm
@Bigun
The news just came out---A.J. Hinch named Roberto Osuna the primary closer down the stretch.
@Bigun
@EasyAce

No surprise there, since that's what we got him for.
I'm thinking:

Pressley, Rondon, Osuna, 7,8, and 9,  with Devenski and Sipp going into face the one-offs (or mop up, with Will Harris)?

Peacock and McCue, earlier/long relief?

What do you y'all think?
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on August 21, 2018, 07:23:37 pm
@Bigun
@EasyAce

No surprise there, since that's what we got him for.
I'm thinking:

Pressley, Rondon, Osuna, 7,8, and 9,  with Devenski and Sipp going into face the one-offs (or mop up, with Will Harris)?

Peacock and McCue, earlier/long relief?

What do you y'all think?

You would be hard pressed to find a better long relief guy than Colin McCue IMHO.

The rest looks about right as well.


Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on August 21, 2018, 07:29:52 pm
You would be hard pressed to find a better long relief guy than Colin McCue IMHO.

The rest looks about right as well.

Although it hasn't looked so good lately, it is one of the better bullpens in the Majors.
I saw it ranked at #2 in some article recently.
The luxury is, if one goes south, there's back up.
Hopefully, they all don't go south at once.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on August 21, 2018, 07:32:28 pm
Although it hasn't looked so good lately, it is one of the better bullpens in the Majors.
I saw it ranked at #2 in some article recently.
The luxury is, if one goes south, there's back up.
Hopefully, they all don't go south at once.

The VAST majority of the Astros recent losses have not had anything to do with the pitching staff.  You have to score to win ballgames I don't care who is on the mound.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on August 21, 2018, 07:39:22 pm
The VAST majority of the Astros recent losses have not had anything to do with the pitching staff.  You have to score to win ballgames I don't care who is on the mound.

QBS, eh?  (Quiet Bat Syndrome.)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on August 21, 2018, 07:44:25 pm
The VAST majority of the Astros recent losses have not had anything to do with the pitching staff.  You have to score to win ballgames I don't care who is on the mound.

Not all were due to silent bats- 3 games lately, starting with Sunday the 12th through last night, 3 late inning home runs did us in.
2 were blown saves, followed by 10th inning home runs, last night, a 3-run blast in the 8th.
I suppose if we had larger leads in all of these, it would have made a difference, of course.
You gotta close the close ones.
Maybe now, if Osuna does well, that starts to happen, but he was one of the guys who gave up a walk-off in the 10th.
I do think it's wise for Hinch to name him the closer, although I'm not thrilled that he's here.
If it settles the situation, maybe that's all it will take.
 :shrug:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on August 21, 2018, 07:46:26 pm
QBS, eh?  (Quiet Bat Syndrome.)

To say the least!   888mouth
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on August 21, 2018, 07:49:23 pm
Not all were due to silent bats- 3 games lately, starting with Sunday the 12th through last night, 3 late inning home runs did us in.
2 were blown saves, followed by 10th inning home runs, last night, a 3-run blast in the 8th.
I suppose if we had larger leads in all of these, it would have made a difference, of course.
You gotta close the close ones.
Maybe now, if Osuna does well, that starts to happen, but he was one of the guys who gave up a walk-off in the 10th.
I do think it's wise for Hinch to name him the closer, although I'm not thrilled that he's here.
If it settles the situation, maybe that's all it will take.
 :shrug:

I just hope that A. J. can get his regular lineup back together and gelled before it's too late.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on August 21, 2018, 07:50:48 pm
QBS, eh?  (Quiet Bat Syndrome.)

When Tyler White is the best hitter you have you are in trouble.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on August 21, 2018, 07:56:03 pm
When Tyler White is the best hitter you have you are in trouble.

IS Altuve back tonight?
I hadn't had a chance to look yet.
Springer was in the opening line up last night, but got scratched due to quad soreness.
QBS, Yeah, that, too.

QBS-Symptoms may included restless nights, head shaking, and finger pointing......
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on August 21, 2018, 09:07:56 pm
The Nats just traded Daniel Murphy to the Cubs and Matt Adams to the Cardinals.

OK, what did they do to piss off GM Mike Rizzo? Remember, his M.O. this year is that if you get into his doghouse, you get traded to contenders. Kind of like the father who punishes his son for driving under the influence by buying him a new 'Vette.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on August 21, 2018, 09:23:33 pm
The Nats just traded Daniel Murphy to the Cubs and Matt Adams to the Cardinals.

OK, what did they do to piss off GM Mike Rizzo? Remember, his M.O. this year is that if you get into his doghouse, you get traded to contenders. Kind of like the father who punishes his son for driving under the influence by buying him a new 'Vette.

Imagine that you get into your bosses doghouse, and he talks a better company into hiring you.
We should all have a boss like Rizzo.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on August 21, 2018, 10:45:16 pm

The Nats just traded Daniel Murphy to the Cubs and Matt Adams to the Cardinals.

OK, what did they do to piss off GM Mike Rizzo? Remember, his M.O. this year is that if you get into his doghouse, you get traded to contenders. Kind of like the father who punishes his son for driving under the influence by buying him a new 'Vette.


I've been watching Murphy closely.   @EasyAce  While his bat is 'steady eddy', his defense has disappeared.

Why not trade him to a contending AL team with a DH?   I don't get it.   Murphy was as surprised as anyone. 

Adams, I understand.   Zimmerman is FINALLY back and platooning doesn't seem to be Adams' cup of tea (0-20 streak going)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on August 21, 2018, 10:46:30 pm
Imagine that you get into your bosses doghouse, and he talks a better company into hiring you.
We should all have a boss like Rizzo.

LOL!  Maybe Dennis Murphy and Bryce Harper will be teammates again as CUBS.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on August 22, 2018, 12:00:17 am
As I had posted on another thread, the AL west and the NL west are getting interesting.
As an Astros fan, more interesting that I would like.

Yep, case study of what happens when your 3 best players go down with an injury at the same time. 

If they don't return in earnest soon, it is not out of the question that we miss the playoffs.   The M's game last night proved that.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on August 22, 2018, 12:01:26 am
I know I'm gonna piss people off by saying this, but getting Osuna integrated is the key IMHO.

It sure didn't help.  Whether it soured the clublhouse this badly?  I'd sure hope not.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on August 22, 2018, 01:43:36 am
I've been watching Murphy closely.   @EasyAce  While his bat is 'steady eddy', his defense has disappeared.
Remember, @DCPatriot , defense was never really Murphy's calling card. His bad defense was a big reason the 2015 Mets blew a World Series they could have won.

Why not trade him to a contending AL team with a DH?   I don't get it.   Murphy was as surprised as anyone.
Why deal a pair of serviceable relief pitchers to contenders just because you only thought they were malcontents and didn't bother trying to ascertain the actual truth? The only shock is that Rizzo didn't trade Murphy or Adams to the Red Sox, last seen still running away with the American League East.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on August 23, 2018, 12:13:13 pm
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24450643/mlb-stephen-strasburg-rough-return-sends-red-flag (http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24450643/mlb-stephen-strasburg-rough-return-sends-red-flag)

Stephen Strasburg's rough return overshadows Nats' walk-off win


WASHINGTON -- Don't let the crazy finish fool you.

Yes, the Washington Nationals defied the odds, overcoming a rocky return by Stephen Strasburg to beat the Phillies 8-7 in dramatic fashion. Sure, Ryan Zimmerman's walk-off, replay-review, two-run homer off Philadelphia closer Seranthony Dominguez helped the Nats clinch a huge series between NL East rivals. Indeed, it's the first time since mid-May that Washington has taken a series from a team with a winning record.

But that's all window dressing. The cold hard truth -- the tummy-turning takeaway for a Nats squad that's trying to go all Cinderella down the stretch -- is that much like the rest of Washington's season, Strasburg's return did not go according to plan.

The hope was that Strasburg, making his first start in more than a month and only his second since June 8, would show no ill effects from the shoulder and neck issues that have plagued him, and would provide the Nats with a much-needed boost. But that's not how it went down.

....."I don't really know," Strasburg said when asked what might have led to his decreased velocity. "I saw it too. I'd like to think that it's -- I don't know if it's rust. I think it's just endurance. Hopefully that's what it is."

continued at link.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on August 23, 2018, 12:18:43 pm
IMO, it's just that Strasburg had no minor league start....merely throwing off a mound in a game simulation...ONCE!

I tend to agree to with him....it's a matter of endurance.

Thing that bothers me is that his 'game face' was expressionless.   He's definitely not happy.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on August 23, 2018, 03:03:58 pm
Interesting entry on Dale Murphy's blog this week.

Quote
On Sunday, Aug. 12, Cubs rookie David Bote belted a two-strike, two-out, bases-loaded, walk-off grand slam to straightaway center to give Chicago a 4-3 win over the Nationals at Wrigley Field.

The next few moments? Some of the best baseball can offer.

Bote air-planed his way around the bases, chucked his helmet a mile into the North Side night, and got mobbed at home plate by teammates as the Friendly Confines erupted in delirium.

It was as exciting a moment as you’ll see in the dog days of summer.

Unfortunately, Bote, a former 18th-round pick, spent the next morning apologizing for what was surely the best, most thrilling moment of his young baseball career. The alleged offense? Bat-flipping.

“It just kind of happened,” Bote said on 670 The Score in Chicago. “I didn’t even realize I did it until I saw it on the replay. I thought, ‘Oh man, I did bat-flip it.’ Obviously, I meant no disrespect by any means. It was just the heat of the moment. I got it good, and I was wishing it out.”

Two things here. One, I don’t know if what Bote did even qualifies as a bat flip. It was more of an excited drop, a roll off the fingertips. And two – and far more importantly – no one on the Nationals complained about Bote’s theatrics, such as they were.

I understand Bote not wanting to step on anyone’s toes. After all, he’s 25 years old, this was his 34th major league game, and he’s been optioned to the minors several times this season. He just wants to keep his head down, work hard, not be a distraction, and earn his spot. I get that. I respect that.

But this unrequested apology for a bat flip that didn’t occur goes right to the heart of one of baseball’s biggest problems: its unrelenting adherence to unwritten rules, its aversion to self-expression, its allergy to fun.

Well, it’s time to put an end to that – starting now.

Yes, on this day, August 20, 2018, I would like to issue the following proclamation:

By the authority vested in me as an old, old-school, no-celebration guy from the 1980s (and as the writer of this blog), I hereby authorize bat-flipping as an acceptable demonstration of joy and exuberance. It shall no longer be deemed a sign of poor sportsmanship or disrespect for an opponent.

The game will henceforth be liberated from the oppressive, monotonous, mundane ways of its founding fathers. (If they’re offended by that, well, I won’t tell them if you won’t!) Gone is the 19th century. Upon us, a new world. With electricity. And air conditioning. And Instagram. House of Highlights has over 10 million followers for a reason. That reason? Sports are fun – for fans and athletes alike. As a side note, I’ve yet to see a bat-flip highlight – or any Major League Baseball highlight – on there. Football, basketball, and soccer dominate clips – yet another indication of baseball’s marketing woes.

As a result, baseball players shall no longer be required to play baseball as if they’re playing chess. And sipping tea. While tip-toeing in a tuxedo.

Instead, happiness will be not only permitted, but encouraged. Hitters can admire home runs. Pitchers can pump fists and shout excitedly after clutch strikeouts. We, as players, fans, and rational-thinking beings, will understand that no harm is intended by these expressions of spontaneous joy.

(Other unwritten rules will be addressed in a future blog.)

Still, we must have some ground rules to ensure proper decorum. As such:

• There will be no taunting of opponents. The absence of aggressive, showy behavior will reinforce to fans and players that no disrespect is intended during moments of excitement.

• If your team is losing, bat-flips will look weird. If your team is losing by a lot, they will look very weird. Use discretion.

• If you flip your bat for a hit that stays in the park – or for a ball that winds up being caught or goes foul – you are going to look stupid. Not just in that moment, but for all of eternity thanks to YouTube, Instagram, and the Internet. Be smart.

• If you want to earn style points while flipping your bat, there’s plenty of inspiration online.

• If you’re so inclined to involve the umpire with your bat-flip, kudos to you!

• In addition, choreographed celebrations and handshakes are not acceptable in Major League Baseball; the NFL owns that. Taking off your jersey as you’re rounding the bases is not acceptable; soccer owns that. But if your teammates want to tear your jersey off at home plate, that’s acceptable.

• If you hit a home run and want to know the launch angle or exit velocity, you must retire. As in, immediately. As in, don’t enter the clubhouse. As in, shower at home. As in, we’ll ship your belongings to you. Maybe.


Okay. We good? Good.

I bring a unique perspective to this. I’m so old, I was around when the high-five was invented. True story: When we hit home runs, we would run the bases with our heads down. When we crossed home plate, we would shake hands with the guy on-deck or maybe tip our cap to the fans. Then we would go to the dugout and literally shake hands with every single teammate and coach. All of them.

That all changed with the high-five. At the time, it was a disruptive invention, a revolutionary display of exuberance that would forever change the nature of spontaneous celebration.

I remember thinking, “Is this okay? Are we allowed to do this?”

Yes, we were. And yes, we are. It was a seminal moment in our culture’s movement toward expressions of joy and achievement.

Thus, as someone who didn’t know if a high-five was acceptable, I’m telling you: the bat-flip is okay.

Want to have some fun? Watch Allen Iverson’s practice rant – but replace every practice with bat-flips. That will sum up my opinion on the matter.

Ultimately, David Bote had nothing to apologize for. If anything, he should be praised for doing something that has only been done 27 times since 1925.

The madness must stop. When in doubt, play the game, love the game, and show the game you love it. We, as fans and players, will all be better off.

https://dalemurphy.com/bat-flips-were-talking-about-bat-flips/ (https://dalemurphy.com/bat-flips-were-talking-about-bat-flips/)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on August 23, 2018, 04:04:37 pm
IMO, it's just that Strasburg had no minor league start....merely throwing off a mound in a game simulation...ONCE!

I tend to agree to with him....it's a matter of endurance.

Thing that bothers me is that his 'game face' was expressionless.   He's definitely not happy.
@DCPatriot
He did say after the game that it bothered him not being there for so much of the season. And who can blame him? When he's healthy, he's one of the best in the business. He may be aware, too, that if he had been healthy all season, the Nats might be sitting at the top of the NL East heap, maybe with the record the Braves have now, maybe one or two wins more.

You wonder, too, how long before he rebuilds the endurance he spoke of. And if that'll still be too late to save the Nats' season.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on August 26, 2018, 11:00:34 am
Aye caramba!!

My NATS have gone 27 innings without scoring vs. the METS.   The METS!!!

Adding insult to injury...both the Braves and the Phillies have lost too!     A chance to get to 5.5 and they blew it!    9999hair out0000
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on August 26, 2018, 02:50:29 pm
Aye caramba!!

My NATS have gone 27 innings without scoring vs. the METS.   The METS!!!

Adding insult to injury...both the Braves and the Phillies have lost too!     A chance to get to 5.5 and they blew it!    9999hair out0000

I hear ya.  The Team That Shall Not Be Named lost last night, so now they're tied with the Rockies for first in the NL West.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: musiclady on September 05, 2018, 11:19:30 pm
Finally got to a Tribe game and watched Corey Kluber take the lead in the MLB with his 18th win!

Not a high scoring game against KC, but a solid win, and very much fun to be there!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on September 06, 2018, 12:14:07 am
Finally got to a Tribe game and watched Corey Kluber take the lead in the MLB with his 18th win!

Not a high scoring game against KC, but a solid win, and very much fun to be there!

Looks like Nola and  Scherzer are the NL favorite for CYA this year.  Looks also ike a close battle between Kluber and Sale in the AL.

All four have had great seasons.  Would hate to have to choose.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on September 06, 2018, 01:30:31 am
Looks like Nola and  Scherzer are the NL favorite for CYA this year.  Looks also ike a close battle between Kluber and Sale in the AL.

All four have had great seasons.  Would hate to have to choose.
Keep in mind Jacob DeGrom is having a better season than all of them except for the fact that his team can't win for him. He's had 25 straight starts surrendering three or fewer runs (and only gave up three in four starts), the first pitcher to do that in a season since the dead-ball era (1910, to be specific); he leads the Show in ERA (1.68), adjusted ERA+ (your ERA adjusted for the parks in which you pitched; deGrom's is 210), and fielding independent pitching (2.07; basically, FIP is your ERA when defensive plays behind you are removed from the equation); he's given up the lowest percentage of home runs (0.4 per nine innings); and, if his team had won all his no-decisions while he was still the pitcher of record his record right now would be 19-8. He could be, and might be, the first Cy Young Award winner since Felix Hernandez do win the award despite fewer than 15 wins. (He also leads pitchers in win probability added, with 5.1, which says even more against his sorry team.) And it's a shame that baseball's best pitcher this year pitches for a team whom he could take to court and sue for non-support and there wouldn't be a judge on the bench who'd say he wasn't justified.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on September 06, 2018, 02:06:52 am
Keep in mind Jacob DeGrom is having a better season than all of them except for the fact that his team can't win for him.

No doubt deGrom has had a fine year, but I would be shocked if he pulled off the CYA this year.  The Writers tend to avoid "shoulda / coulda" aspects when voting.  For my team, Nolan Ryan's '87 season was a good example.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on September 06, 2018, 02:16:09 am
No doubt deGrom has had a fine year, but I would be shocked if he pulled off the CYA this year.  The Writers tend to avoid "shoulda / coulda" aspects when voting.  For my team, Nolan Ryan's '87 season was a good example.

While Nola has more wins than Scherzer, Max leads in all categories.

He shouldn't be penalized if the NATS don't make the postseason.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on September 06, 2018, 03:43:40 am
No doubt deGrom has had a fine year, but I would be shocked if he pulled off the CYA this year.  The Writers tend to avoid "shoulda / coulda" aspects when voting.  For my team, Nolan Ryan's '87 season was a good example.
They don't have to shoulda/woulda with deGrom. Except for his won-lost record his important stats speak as well for themselves as King Felix's did.

@DCPatriot
They won't generally hold whether his team didn't make the postseason against a qualified Cy Young candidate. Think of Steve Carlton in 1972 for one example.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on September 06, 2018, 04:00:07 am
They don't have to shoulda/woulda with deGrom. Except for his won-lost record his important stats speak as well for themselves as King Felix's did.

@DCPatriot
They won't generally hold whether his team didn't make the postseason against a qualified Cy Young candidate. Think of Steve Carlton in 1972 for one example.

I'm glad to hear you say that, @EasyAce

Nobody works harder at his craft than Max Scherzer.  No run support early on.

Like Mike Mussian did with the Orioles...he'll go inning by inning against an EASYACE, but make one mistake that leaves the yard.  Hopefully a solo shot.  Or two....  And they'd lose 3-1 or 2-0
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on September 06, 2018, 05:29:55 am
I'm glad to hear you say that, @EasyAce

Nobody works harder at his craft than Max Scherzer.  No run support early on.

Like Mike Mussian did with the Orioles...he'll go inning by inning against an EASYACE, but make one mistake that leaves the yard.  Hopefully a solo shot.  Or two....  And they'd lose 3-1 or 2-0
@DCPatriot
More pitchers than you think won Cy Young Awards in seasons when their teams didn't make the postseason.

One across the board era:

Dean Chance (Angels, 1964)*

National League:

Mike McCormick (Giants, 1967)
Bob Gibson (Cardinals, 1970)
Ferguson Jenkins (Cubs, 1971)
Steve Carlton (Phillies, 1972)
Tom Seaver (Mets, 1975---his third)
Randy Jones (Padres, 1976)
Gaylord Perry (Padres, 1978)
Bruce Sutter (Cubs, 1979)
Steve Carlton (Phillies, 1982)
Dwight Gooden (Mets, 1985)
Steve Bedrosian (Phillies, 1987)
Mark Davis (Padres, 1989)
Greg Maddux (Cubs, 1992)
Pedro Martinez (Expos, 1997)
Eric Gagne (Dodgers, 2003)
Brandon Webb (Diamondbacks, 2006)
Jake Peavy (Padres, 2007)
Tim Lincecum (Giants, 2008, 2009)
Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers, 2011)
R.A. Dickey (Mets, 2012)

American League:

Denny McLain (Tigers, 1969)
Gaylord Perry (Indians, 1972)
Jim Palmer (Orioles, 1975, 1976)
Steve Stone (Orioles, 1980)
Roger Clemens (Red Sox, 1987, 1991)
Bret Saberhagen (Royals, 1989)
David Cone (Royals, 1994)
Pat Hentgen (Blue Jays, 1996)
Roger Clemens (Blue Jays, 1997, 1998)
Pedro Martinez (Red Sox, 2000)
Roy Halladay (Blue Jays, 2003)
Cliff Lee (Indians, 2008)
Zack Greinke (Royals, 2009)
Felix Hernandez (Mariners, 2010)
David Price (Rays, 2012)
Corey Kluber (Indians, 2014)

* Don Drysdale won the Cy Young Award in 1962 (one across the board), but his Dodgers tied for the pennant with the Giants at season's end and played a three-game playoff to decide the flag. With Sandy Koufax still ailing and not quite all the way back from his mid-season circulatory ailment, the Dodgers lost in three games and the Giants went on to lose the World Series to the Yankees.

(1962 was a good year for Dodgers winning awards they didn't deserve. There's a case to make that Cincinnati's Bob Purkey actually should have won the Cy Young Award that year, but voters then and for many years to come had a bias against pitchers whose repertoires included the knuckleball, and Purkey---having the best season of his career---threw the knuckleball almost half the time, in addition to good breaking stuff otherwise. And Maury Wills won the National League's Most Valuable Player award for no reason better than that he smashed Ty Cobb's single-season stolen base record; there's a real case to make that either Willie Mays or Frank Robinson should have been the NL's MVP that year.)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on September 06, 2018, 05:40:13 am
Thanks for that detailed reply, @EasyAce

Glad the Cy Young award hasn't become a popularity contest.

IMO, the King of the Hill (Max Scherzer) needs to 'demonstrably' be dethroned. 

Put the W-L record aside, it's Max's to lose.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on September 06, 2018, 06:07:55 am
Thanks for that detailed reply, @EasyAce

Glad the Cy Young award hasn't become a popularity contest.
@DCPatriot
There were a couple of Cy Young Awards that did seem to be awarded in a kind of popularity contest. I mentioned Don Drysdale above. Drysdale was one of the most popular pitchers of his time; compared to his public image who the hell was Bob Purkey?

Bob Turley won the 1958 Cy Young Award despite Warren Spahn being arguably the season's best pitcher across the board; I suspect voters were swayed by Turley's better winning percentage and ignored how many more he walked than Spahn did. (Spahn struck out eighteen fewer hitters than Turley but also walked---wait for it---52 fewer batters. And Turley led the American League in walks, which also negated his ability to keep the hits down to a minimum.) But even if Spahn had his own reputation what was he against a Yankee even if he did win the 1957 award? What Turley had in his favour---he was tough to hit; 1958 was the fourth straight year in which he led the majors in fewest hits per nine innings. What he really had against him---in his Cy Young season his fielding independent pitching (4.04) was almost twice his ERA while he was winning 21 games. The following year, he had the same FIP . . . and his won-lost record turned up 8-11. And to think they called Eddie Yost the Walking Man . . .

Some of us still can't figure out, too, how 1990 AL Cy Young winner Bob Welch fooled everyone with those 27 wins. He wasn't exactly Sandy Koufax or Steve Carlton. He had a 2.95 ERA . . . but a 4.19 fielding-independent pitching (FIP) rate. His 1.65 K/BB ratio was under the American League average. He only struck out 125 batters all season long. So how did he win those 27 games? With the best run-support in the American League---he was given 5.21 runs per nine innings to work with, which was well over the league's 4.39 per nine average. If you look at the Cy Young Award finishers for that year and see their overall records, there's a huge case that Roger Clemens should actually have won the award.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on September 06, 2018, 02:31:04 pm
@EasyAce
@DCPatriot

Jim Palmer/Nolan Ryan in 1973 comes to mind as a popularity contest for the Cy Young award.
Palmer had 1 more win than Ryan.
Ryan, playing on a bad Angels team, had 21 wins, 383 strikeouts, 2 no-hitter (and came close to 5!).


Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on September 06, 2018, 04:25:20 pm
@EasyAce
@DCPatriot

Jim Palmer/Nolan Ryan in 1973 comes to mind as a popularity contest for the Cy Young award.
Palmer had 1 more win than Ryan.
Ryan, playing on a bad Angels team, had 21 wins, 383 strikeouts, 2 no-hitter (and came close to 5!).
There's a case that John Hiller, the Tigers' relief pitcher, actually should have won the 1973 Cy Young Award: he had the league's best walks/hits per inning pitched rate, its best ERA (1.44, and he appeared in 65 games, and he usually pitched two innings or better while leading the league with 38 saves), and his 8.4 win probability added rate was the best in the league that season. But the Cy Young voters weren't quite ready to hand the prize to a relief pitcher.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Formerly Once-Ler on September 12, 2018, 02:50:08 am
! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjGcCI9ByWw#)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on September 12, 2018, 03:24:22 am
Mike Piazza, New York Mets---two-run homer in the first game in New York after 9/11, ten days later . . .

! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQhH6yZ8lxw#)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on September 22, 2018, 03:00:59 am
Did Y'all here about the Gurriel Brothers tonight?
Lourdes Gurriel hit two home runs for Toronto.
Yuli Gurriel hit 2 for the Astros, A grand slam, and a 2 run shot, has 7 RBI overall, still in the 8th.
Lourdes actually hit 3 home runs in a three straight at bats.
The last at bat he had last night, and his first two at bats today.
Real life Bash Brothers.
Elias Sports said it was the first time 2 brothers each hit two home runs on the same day.
Yule, who's no slouch, says his younger brother Lourdes is better than him.
Houston travels to Toronto next week.
I can't wait.
It ought to be a blast.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on September 22, 2018, 03:11:53 am
.
[/quote]

BTW...we clinched a playoff spot tonight.

Up to moment fan graph prediction of this year's WS winner

Houston-         22.6%
LA Dodgers-    20.4%
Boston-           15.1%
Cleveland-       13.1%
NYY-               10.0%
Chi Cubs-          8.5%
Atl-                   3.0%
Milwaukee-        2.8%
Oakland-           2.1%
St. Louis.           1.6%
Colorada-           0.7%
Philadelphia-       0.1%
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on October 08, 2018, 09:44:20 pm
Astros Win!! Astros Win!!  Astros Win AGAIN!!!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on October 08, 2018, 09:54:53 pm
Astros Win!! Astros Win!!  Astros Win AGAIN!!!
They tied a record, too, for most consecutive postseason games with at least one home run---they've now hit at least one in twelve straight such games.

Now to the ALCS. Where whomever they play won't be quite the pushovers the Indians proved to be.

If it's the Astros against the Red Sox, the Astros have a great chance if they can get past the Red Sox's starters and get into that none-too-steady bullpen early and often. If it's the Astros against the Yankees, it probably won't be a short set since the Yankees are a little more experienced this time around and their bullpen is better this year than it was last year. Plus both teams didn't change all that much this year, so they're each familiar with each other and the Yankees should be less prone to the mistakes they made in last year's ALCS. Astros vs. Yankees, it'll probably go seven again with no assurance the Astros make a return World Series engagement. Astros vs. Red Sox, it could be five or six with the Astros coming out on top and going back to the Series.

For now. Remember Andujar's Law: in baseball, there's just one word---you never know.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: musiclady on October 08, 2018, 10:48:03 pm
That was seriously the worst game I've ever seen........

But only one of the two teams playing deserved to go on, so....

Do it again, Astros!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on October 09, 2018, 01:17:27 am
They tied a record, too, for most consecutive postseason games with at least one home run---they've now hit at least one in twelve straight such games.

Now to the ALCS. Where whomever they play won't be quite the pushovers the Indians proved to be.

If it's the Astros against the Red Sox, the Astros have a great chance if they can get past the Red Sox's starters and get into that none-too-steady bullpen early and often. If it's the Astros against the Yankees, it probably won't be a short set since the Yankees are a little more experienced this time around and their bullpen is better this year than it was last year. Plus both teams didn't change all that much this year, so they're each familiar with each other and the Yankees should be less prone to the mistakes they made in last year's ALCS. Astros vs. Yankees, it'll probably go seven again with no assurance the Astros make a return World Series engagement. Astros vs. Red Sox, it could be five or six with the Astros coming out on top and going back to the Series.

For now. Remember Andujar's Law: in baseball, there's just one word---you never know.


(1) Yankee's bullpen?  You don't think the Astros bullpen is 100% better?  Last year we didn't hardly have a bull pen at all, as evidence AJ's use of starters in relief.  This year the pen is rock solid and now have a reliable closer in Osuna, vs. last year's head case Giles.

(2) Not much change in Houston?  We added a No. 2 pitcher who might be No. 1 in 2/3 of the rest of the League (Cole).  I'll venture we have the best 1-2 starting punch in baseball (Verlander / Cole) . Our No. 3 is a recent Cy Young winner too btw.  The ALDS was prime example of that level of dominance.

In any case, you underestimated us last year, so I don't mind if you do it again.   :cool:

Like you quoted....  "You never know" We'll know soon.

@EasyAce
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on October 09, 2018, 01:19:25 am
Astros Win!! Astros Win!!  Astros Win AGAIN!!!
Channeling your inner Loel Passe? Or was that Milo?  :cool:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on October 09, 2018, 01:54:06 am


(1) Yankee's bullpen?  You don't think the Astros bullpen is 100% better?  Last year we didn't hardly have a bull pen at all, as evidence AJ's use of starters in relief.  This year the pen is rock solid and now have a reliable closer in Osuna, vs. last year's head case Giles.

(2) Not much change in Houston?  We added a No. 2 pitcher who might be No. 1 in 2/3 of the rest of the League (Cole).  I'll venture we have the best 1-2 starting punch in baseball (Verlander / Cole) . Our No. 3 is a recent Cy Young winner too btw.  The ALDS was prime example of that level of dominance.

In any case, you underestimated us last year, so I don't mind if you do it again.   :cool:

Like you quoted....  "You never know" We'll know soon.

@EasyAce
Except for Gerrit Cole this team is pretty much the same as last year's World Series winner, and Verlander/Cole are a terrific 1-2 punch. But, yes, the Yankee pen is better this season:
the ERAs for the five main Yankee pitchers was 2.80 next to those of the Astros being 2.88, but the Yankee pen had a better walks/hits per inning pitched rate than the Astros pen and the Yankee pen's fielding-independent pitching rate---basically, that's your ERA without your defense factored in---was 2.68, with the Astros' pen showing a 3.08 FIP. Both pens surrendered a comparatively few home runs this season: 29 for the Yankees' five main men; 30 for the Astros'. Where the Yankee pen might be vulnerable is if they have to go to other than their five main guys, but that's their only vulnerability, and it's possible the Yankees may leave a couple of those guys off the ALCS roster if they get there. Both these bullpens are awfully close to each other, but I'd have to say the Yankees have the slight edge there especially if they have to come into a game early. The Astros pen is good if they have to get into a game early, but the Yankee pen is just a little bit better. They don't look so good today with the Red Sox battering the Yankees 10-1 in the fifth as I write, but overall they're just a little more solid.

If the Astros get the Red Sox in the ALCS, it'll be little contest---the Red Sox bullpen is a band aids-and-string mess comparatively. The key for the Astros against the Red Sox, I repeat---get their starters out of the way early and get into the Red Sox bullpen early, and often. If they do that it'll be a short ALCS; the Red Sox's bats won't be kept too quiet even against the Astros' best pitchers, but the Astros can win against the Red Sox if the Sox have to go to the bullpen too early.

Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Elderberry on October 10, 2018, 03:37:03 am
Boston Wins, barely.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on October 10, 2018, 07:13:08 am
Boston Wins, barely.
@Elderberry
A blowout is well and good but there's nothing like a little hair-raiser to keep a team honest.

Now we'll see if the Red Sox's bats can overcome their half-shaky bullpen (the two guys who relieved earlier tonight were sharp, maybe the best pen men the Sox have, but the rest of the pen is rickety enough, and I'm pretty sure the Red Sox won't think about sending too many other starting pitchers to the pen ;) ) and find ways past the Astros' effective starters. Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole are no pushovers. During the season the Red Sox lost the series with the Astros three games to four, and the scoring difference between them was only three runs, advantage Astros. But you never know what might happen when a League Championship Series comes into play.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: DCPatriot on October 10, 2018, 07:44:20 am
Since I was eight years old, I've grown to HATE the Yankees.

Growing up in Buffalo, NY we cheered for the Brooklyn Dodgers....the perennial underdogs.

GD Yankees seemed to always be willing to break the bank in salaries in an effort to gain the advantage.

It tickles me to this day to see Yankees going home early in the ALDS.

Payback for that little kid Jeffry Meier, who grabbed that fly ball at the wall in right field.   Bastards.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on October 10, 2018, 02:47:54 pm
Except for Gerrit Cole this team is pretty much the same as last year's World Series winner, and Verlander/Cole are a terrific 1-2 punch. But, yes, the Yankee pen is better this season:
the ERAs for the five main Yankee pitchers was 2.80 next to those of the Astros being 2.88, but the Yankee pen had a better walks/hits per inning pitched rate than the Astros pen and the Yankee pen's fielding-independent pitching rate---basically, that's your ERA without your defense factored in---was 2.68, with the Astros' pen showing a 3.08 FIP. Both pens surrendered a comparatively few home runs this season: 29 for the Yankees' five main men; 30 for the Astros'. Where the Yankee pen might be vulnerable is if they have to go to other than their five main guys, but that's their only vulnerability, and it's possible the Yankees may leave a couple of those guys off the ALCS roster if they get there. Both these bullpens are awfully close to each other, but I'd have to say the Yankees have the slight edge there especially if they have to come into a game early. The Astros pen is good if they have to get into a game early, but the Yankee pen is just a little bit better. They don't look so good today with the Red Sox battering the Yankees 10-1 in the fifth as I write, but overall they're just a little more solid.

If the Astros get the Red Sox in the ALCS, it'll be little contest---the Red Sox bullpen is a band aids-and-string mess comparatively. The key for the Astros against the Red Sox, I repeat---get their starters out of the way early and get into the Red Sox bullpen early, and often. If they do that it'll be a short ALCS; the Red Sox's bats won't be kept too quiet even against the Astros' best pitchers, but the Astros can win against the Red Sox if the Sox have to go to the bullpen too early.

I think the Astros bullpen is leaps and bounds better this year than it was last year.  But that's just me I guess.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on October 10, 2018, 04:10:55 pm
I think the Astros bullpen is leaps and bounds better this year than it was last year.  But that's just me I guess.

Dang straight.  Last year AJ had to pull out secondary starters as relievers to win the WS. 

Thankfully Ken Giles is at least a 1000 miles from anywhere we play.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on October 10, 2018, 05:17:18 pm
Dang straight.  Last year AJ had to pull out secondary starters as relievers to win the WS. 
Thankfully Ken Giles is at least a 1000 miles from anywhere we play.


 :amen:  :amen: and  :amen: again!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: musiclady on October 10, 2018, 05:24:23 pm
I think the Astros bullpen is leaps and bounds better this year than it was last year.  But that's just me I guess.

They sure did a number on the Indians.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on October 10, 2018, 05:38:38 pm
Channeling your inner Loel Passe? Or was that Milo?  :cool:

With all of the apostrophes, I'm thinking Milo....
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on October 13, 2018, 10:41:34 pm
Game One---two passed balls, two errors. Game Two---Bats with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the seventh . . . and dials Area Code 4-6-3. I'm beginning to think that having Yasmani Grandal on your National League Championship Series team is a lot like having Bonnie and Clyde run your police department.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on October 14, 2018, 04:20:13 am
ALCS Game 1-  Houston 7 Boston 2. Houston leads series 1-0.

 :lotsosmileys: :

Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Bigun on October 14, 2018, 01:15:26 pm
ALCS Game 1-  Houston 7 Boston 2. Houston leads series 1-0.

 :lotsosmileys: :

 888high58888  :beer:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on October 15, 2018, 02:42:31 pm
1-1 Series now.
Coming back to Houston for 3 games..
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on October 15, 2018, 02:45:15 pm
1-1 Series now.
Coming back to Houston for 3 games..

Last night was painful.  Not one of A.J.'s best moments.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: TomSea on December 12, 2018, 02:25:55 am
A day late but on December 10th, 1951, Joe Dimaggio retired from baseball. He started playing for the Yankees in 1936,

https://babalublog.com/2018/12/10/my-father-used-to-tell-me-about-the-day-that-joe-dimaggio-retired/

It's a baseball mad country even still, Cuba that is. I listened to some Cuban shortwave this summer and they'd report the scores. I'm pretty sure this was "Radio Marti" which is NOT the Cuban government or in Cuba but an outreach originating from the USA to Cuba.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on December 16, 2018, 07:16:42 pm
A's OF Piscotty wins Tony Conigliaro Award (https://www.yahoo.com/sports/piscotty-wins-tony-conigliaro-award-192958030--mlb.html)

Stephen Piscotty became an Athletic in the first place when the Cardinals, knowing his mother was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, elected to send him closer to home so he could be near her. When he returned to the A's after her death this past May, Piscotty was in the lineup against the Red Sox in Boston and, in his first plate appearance after bereavement leave for his mother's death, hit one over the Green Monster. Piscotty ended the season with career highs in home runs (27) and runs batted in (88). (It was also the first time Piscotty ever played in Fenway Park.)

(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oYmCkc8pzvo/WvxPgTjoLQI/AAAAAAAABVA/ooFSpPEKgPgcQ2XH9m-9kAMDkIEWnrzsACLcBGAs/s1600/2018-05-15%2BStephenPiscotty.jpg)
That was Piscotty tapping his heart for his mother, as he rounded third after he hit that home run. He said the heart tap was his mother's way to say "I love you" after the disease compromised her speech.

And this was the home run . . .

Sorry... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGuLOpB83Oc#)

To hit a home run in his first at-bat [back] like that, there was something in the air. Probably Gretchen.---A's manager Bob Melvin.

(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v3JSUpQpqwU/WvxSCRpHguI/AAAAAAAABVM/X_OXMmYIi9Qs4hwm3c-ACO9DvLfVJth8gCLcBGAs/s1600/2018-05-25%2BStephenGretchenPiscotty.jpg)
Piscotty with his mother when he was a kid rooting for the A's. The story is that when she was pregnant with him, she would hold a music box against her stomach---it played "Amazing Grace." Piscotty himself says that's his favourite song; he would play it for his mother frequently during the last months of her life.

Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on December 16, 2018, 07:37:02 pm
Found a classic clip, from 1966:

Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry (then with the Giants) pitching to Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente (Pirates) and making Clemente think he's getting his grease . . . (provoking then-Pirates manager Harry [the Hat] Walker to arguing and getting tossed by the umps) . . .

Sorry... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXLc8hKoaBw#)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: skeeter on December 16, 2018, 08:22:42 pm


THIS is the proper way to be ejected.

Sorry... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oryBLPMH59M#)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on December 16, 2018, 08:31:21 pm

THIS is the proper way to be ejected.

Sorry... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oryBLPMH59M#)
@skeeter
That was puppy chow!

Sorry... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf9E1zhnFec#)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: skeeter on December 16, 2018, 10:26:37 pm
Hilarious. Extra style points for sure!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Polly Ticks on December 17, 2018, 11:07:36 am
The double-handed kiss at the end was quite lovely.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on December 18, 2018, 03:45:09 pm
Channeling your inner Loel Passe? Or was that Milo?  :cool:

Oops!  I am late. 

I lost five buckaroonies thinking the Dodgers would beat the Astros!  Last year I won a buck, but I was never paid.

Go figure...

And now Goldy is with the Cardinals.  Jake Lamb takes over at first plate.  I will be rooting for the Cardinals only because of Goldy.  He deserves a ring.  Miggy Montero got his when he joined the Cubbies.

Ahhhh, baseball.  Hopefully, this move of ours @Cyber Liberty will be finished by Spring Training.  LOL!

Baseball rules!

 :amen:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on December 18, 2018, 03:49:03 pm


And now Goldy is with the Cardinals.  Jake Lamb takes over at first plate.  I will be rooting for the Cardinals only because of Goldy.  He deserves a ring.  Miggy Montero got his when he joined the Cubbies.





I was really hoping the Astros would have signed Goldschmidt.  It would have given them maybe the greatest MLB infield of all time.

1B- Goldschmidt
2B- Altuve
SS- Correa
3B- Bregman

Alas...not so lucky.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Cyber Liberty on December 18, 2018, 03:50:38 pm
Oops!  I am late. 

I lost five buckaroonies thinking the Dodgers would beat the Astros!  Last year I won a buck, but I was never paid.

Go figure...

And now Goldy is with the Cardinals.  Jake Lamb takes over at first plate.  I will be rooting for the Cardinals only because of Goldy.  He deserves a ring.  Miggy Montero got his when he joined the Cubbies.

Ahhhh, baseball.  Hopefully, this move of ours @Cyber Liberty will be finished by Spring Training.  LOL!

Baseball rules!

 :amen:

We'll be done, and we will have moved away from where the Spring Training is played.   :shrug:
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on December 18, 2018, 03:54:57 pm
I was really hoping the Astros would have signed Goldschmidt.  It would have given them maybe the greatest MLB infield of all time.

1B- Goldschmidt
2B- Altuve
SS- Correa
3B- Bregman

Alas...not so lucky.

How many times in history has a single team won the World Series three times in a row?  Perhaps the "old" Yankees or Dodgers, but none comes to my brain right now.

My brain is kind of in a muddle.  But that is okay.  It could be in a puddle, which would not be very good at all.

 wink777
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on December 18, 2018, 03:58:20 pm
Messed up again!  Back to being a newbie!

 8888crybaby
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on December 18, 2018, 04:29:55 pm
How many times in history has a single team won the World Series three times in a row?  Perhaps the "old" Yankees or Dodgers, but none comes to my brain right now.
@Slip18
Not only three, but five times in a row: the Yankees, under Casey Stengel, from 1949-53.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Slip18 on December 18, 2018, 04:53:35 pm
@Slip18
Not only three, but five times in a row: the Yankees, under Casey Stengel, from 1949-53.

Thank you, Easy!

It just figures the Yankees.  Such a great team back then.  Dang! 

Casey Stengel.  I have not heard his name in a long time!
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on December 18, 2018, 05:52:40 pm
Thank you, Easy!

It just figures the Yankees.  Such a great team back then.  Dang! 

Casey Stengel.  I have not heard his name in a long time!
@Slip18
@Cyber Liberty

Required reading for anyone who wants to see debunked once and for all the canard that those Yankees could have won with just a uniformed mannequin installed as manager:

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51ADZG6WV1L._SX332_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

A favourite Stengel story: When Mickey Mantle was a rookie, the Yankees broke spring training camp and went to Ebbets Field to play an exhibition with the Dodgers. Before the game, Stengel took Mantle towards right center field to show him the once-infamous Ebbets right field wall, the concrete wall bisected by a wall-height main scoreboard, which had a break across its middle with the lower section angling toward the field itself. (The angle and outward incline were a challenge for outfielders: Dodger right fielder Carl Furillo once said, "Where's the ball gonna hit? If it hits below the break you run like hell to the infield because it's gonna come shooting out. If it hits above the break, you run like hell to the wall because it's gonna drop dead.")

Stengel said to Mantle, "Now, when I played here . . . " (Which he had, in his playing career, as a Dodger.)

Mantle busted his gut laughing. "You played here?" he managed to ask through his laughing.

A sportswriter happened to overhear the exchange, and Stengel tried to explain while holding his own laughter. "The boy never saw concrete before," the Ol' Perfesser said. "He thinks I was born sixty and started managin' right away."

But it might shock some of today's fans who complain about some of today's game trends to realise Stengel was using those very things to win with the Yankees, including platoon splitting and even Moneyball-style baseball: Stengel was a big believer in and talker about on-base percentage decades before Billy Beane made a team-building science out of it; he thought nothing of going to his bullpen earlier than normal if he thought the situation called for it; he even paid attention to reverse platoon splits. (One of his most famous moves was based on just that: the purists screamed bloody murder when he brought in a non-descript righthander named Bob Kuzava to set down a rally in the final game of the 1952 World Series despite a group of lefthanded hitters due up for the Dodgers, but Stengel knew something the purists didn't: Kuzava at the time was better against lefthanded pitchers. And Kuzava saved the game and the Series, the fourth of the five straight Series Stengel won with the Yankees.) His basic managing philosophy: when you have an opening, shove with your shoulder.

Stengel was a sabermetric kind of manager decades before anyone even thought of the term sabermetrics. And when he had the kind of players who could execute (his own favourite word) his kind of baseball, he won.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: catfish1957 on December 18, 2018, 08:59:38 pm
Thank you, Easy!



Casey Stengel.  I have not heard his name in a long time!

Talk about a mixture of assignments......

The Late '40's, early '50's Yankees    and......

The infamous 1962 Mets.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on December 18, 2018, 09:41:28 pm
Talk about a mixture of assignments......

The Late '40's, early '50's Yankees    and......

The infamous 1962 Mets.
He also managed the sad-sack Brooklyn Dodgers of the mid-1930s and the Boston Braves crossing into the early 40s. Where on both teams he could count on half a hand how many genuinely good players he had with those teams.

He also had a rookie on the '42 Braves named Warren Spahn, who was still green enough that, when he refused to knock Dodger shortstop Pee Wee Reese down in a retaliation move, Stengel sent Spahn back to the minors.

I said 'no guts' to a kid who went on to become a war hero and one of the greatest pitchers you ever say. You can't say I don't miss 'em when I miss 'em.---Stengel, remembering Spahn after Spahn became one of the National League's top pitchers. When the Braves beat the Yankees in the 1957 World Series, Stengel made a point of telling Spahn and Lew Burdette (originally a Yankee but dealt to the Braves after Stengel just couldn't decide on Burdette's makeup) he'd been wrong about both pitcher. (Burdette beat the Yankees thrice in that Series; Spahn won the other game.)

Stengel had one more round with Spahn, when the Mets acquired him from the Braves after the 1964 season. It gave Spahn one kind of bragging right: I played for Casey before and after he was a genius.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on December 21, 2018, 03:36:23 am
Baseball news---Free-agent Indians relief pitcher Andrew Miller is said to be close to a new deal with the Cardinals. It's a good thing Anheuser Busch doesn't own the Cardinals anymore. They'd have one hell of a promotional headache on their hands with Cardinals fans holding up signs and wearing T-shirts saying "Now . . . it's Miller Time" . . .
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: Machiavelli on December 22, 2018, 12:09:32 am
@EasyAce What do you think of the Dodgers-Reds deal?
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on December 22, 2018, 12:58:42 am
@EasyAce What do you think of the Dodgers-Reds deal?
@Machiavelli
I think it means the Dodgers a) break an outfield logjam; b) relieve themselves about $15 million worth of luxury tax possibility; and, therefore, c) have room to make a serious play for Bryce Harper. Though you have to admit Los Angeles is going to miss its Puig-in-the-box and about ten surprises a week. On the other hand, the Wild Horse is going to love hitting in that yummier hitter's park in Cincinnati. Maybe even enough that the Reds decide to fasten him aboard on a long-term extension. Kemp might continue his renaissance there, too. (They both become free agents after the 2019 season.)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on December 22, 2018, 12:59:23 am
Meanwhile, there are other teams trying other routes for 2019 . . .

(https://scontent.flas1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/48426695_10156406403602912_6577857759465701376_n.jpg?_nc_cat=106&_nc_eui2=AeEV2UeJqntbT2KIj4U8PvGydAS5x7YuqWwBqe16afXG9ZBZArqvqzHhhiigOheuPCpmQKOZeVxIB1ReYIlEtK5RffrrStE2xLSdP7LrHPwtog&_nc_ht=scontent.flas1-2.fna&oh=54371a02a007b61118ae1457fe29efaf&oe=5C971254)
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: GrouchoTex on December 22, 2018, 02:33:39 pm
@Machiavelli
I think it means the Dodgers a) break an outfield logjam; b) relieve themselves about $15 million worth of luxury tax possibility; and, therefore, c) have room to make a serious play for Bryce Harper. Though you have to admit Los Angeles is going to miss its Puig-in-the-box and about ten surprises a week. On the other hand, the Wild Horse is going to love hitting in that yummier hitter's park in Cincinnati. Maybe even enough that the Reds decide to fasten him aboard on a long-term extension. Kemp might continue his renaissance there, too. (They both become free agents after the 2019 season.)

@EasyAce
I'm at work and the company internet blocks sports pages.
Who did the trolley Dodgers get in return?
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on December 22, 2018, 04:20:31 pm
@EasyAce
I'm at work and the company internet blocks sports pages.
Who did the trolley Dodgers get in return?
@GrouchoTex
They got pitcher Homer Bailey (really a kind of reclamation project) and a pair of prospects, infielder Jeter Downs and pitcher Josiah Gray.
Title: Re: BASEBALL 2018---BRING IT ON!
Post by: EasyAce on December 28, 2018, 07:51:23 pm
In the 1930s, the Phillies weren't exactly barn burners, and while playing in old Baker Bowl an angry fan painted some graffiti on the large right field wall sign on which the team endorsed a certain deodorant soap. I tried to imagine here how that graffiti might have looked, since no photograph of it is known to have survived . . .

(https://scontent.flas1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/49170068_10156422022567912_601960840723169280_n.jpg?_nc_cat=101&_nc_ht=scontent.flas1-2.fna&oh=8f1ac8acebb1392031746d2d646ad034&oe=5CD25C83)

That was even funnier than the disgruntled Dodger fan of the same decade who painted the Ebbets Field occupancy law sign to read, "Occupancy by more than 35,000 unlawful and unlikely."