BASEBALL 2017---Bring it On!!!

[GrouchoTex]

True enough. I've seen batters reach out and hit intentional balls and I've also seen intentional balls go to the backstop

I think it was in the World Series where Johnny Bench had two strikes on him.
The catcher called time out, went out to the mound for a meeting.
They threw three intentional balls.
As Johnny Bench stood there, they threw strike three right down the middle.

That won't happen again.

[Cyber Liberty]

I think it was in the World Series where Johnny Bench had two strikes on him.
The catcher called time out, went out to the mound for a meeting.
They threw three intentional balls.
As Johnny Bench stood there, they threw strike three right down the middle.

That won't happen again.

Nope.  Not with Intentional Walks like they are now.  All in the name of "pace." 

[EasyAce]

I've said it before, I'll say it again. They want to quicken the pace of a baseball game,
stop cutting to commercials every time a manager goes to his bullpen in the middle
of a tough inning. (And find C.B. Bucknor another line of work.)

[DCPatriot]

I DO NOT understand why people insist on fixing things that aren't broken! 

I long for the days when baseball was played for the love of the game!

Astros are 14 and 6!

 

Love that Houston stadium. 

I believe 45 games is a good barometer in which to judge and evaluate teams/players.

[DCPatriot]

I think it was in the World Series where Johnny Bench had two strikes on him.
The catcher called time out, went out to the mound for a meeting.
They threw three intentional balls.
As Johnny Bench stood there, they threw strike three right down the middle.

That won't happen again.

My way around that rule?

Don't ask for the intentional pass.   Just throw four pitch-outs.

[Cyber Liberty]

My way around that rule?

Don't ask for the intentional pass.   Just throw four pitch-outs.

A pitcher will never do that because the new rule protects them from Wild Pitches and Passed Balls.  The rule only screws the batter.

[DCPatriot]

A pitcher will never do that because the new rule protects them from Wild Pitches and Passed Balls.  The rule only screws the batter.

I was merely satisfying the 'purist' in the box seat.   LOL!

[Cyber Liberty]

I was merely satisfying the 'purist' in the box seat.   LOL!

Moi?   

[DCPatriot]

Trea Turner triple shy of another cycle as Nats rough up Rockies


DENVER -- Good luck navigating through the top five of Washington's lineup these days.

It's definitely a pick-your-poison sort of situation.

Trea Turner nearly hit for the cycle for a second straight night, finishing a triple shy, and Bryce Harper had four more hits to run his average to .432 as the Nationals beat the Colorado Rockies 11-4 on Wednesday.

In all, the combination of Adam Eaton, Turner, Harper, Ryan Zimmerman and Daniel Murphy went 13 of 24 with three homers and all 11 RBI to help the Nationals improve to 8-1 on their 10-game trip.

Now that's production.



more at:  http://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=370426127

_________________________________________________________________

[catfish1957]

Trea Turner triple shy of another cycle as Nats rough up Rockies


DENVER -- Good luck navigating through the top five of Washington's lineup these days.

Nats do look tough this year.

My Astros may not have that level of "murderer's row" but the lineup is rock solid 1-9.  Add a resurgent Keuchel , a good front 3 (which is all you need in playoffs), and  maybe the best pen in MLB, and we might be seeing y'all in October.

Still real early but.....

[DCPatriot]

Nats do look tough this year.

My Astros may not have that level of "murderer's row" but the lineup is rock solid 1-9.  Add a resurgent Keuchel , a good front 3 (which is all you need in playoffs), and  maybe the best pen in MLB, and we might be seeing y'all in October.

Still real early but.....

The Astros are fun to watch.   Like the Royals' teams when they first realized they were contenders.

But I don't care how 'fearsome' your lineup can be.   Good pitching will shut down hitting, especially in a short series.

Max Scherzer  ERA 1.95

Stephen Strasburg - ERA 2.89

Gio "Nat Gio" Gonzalez  ERA 1.35

Tanner Roark - ERA 3.64

Joe Ross  - only 11 innings pitched.   too small a sample size.

[Cyber Liberty]

Your guys did great last night, @DCPatriot!  Unfortunately, my Dbacks blew it in the Ninth, so we're still 1/2 game behind Colorado.   

[Cripplecreek]

3 way tie in the AL Central right now. Sox, Indians, and Tigers are all 11-9 at .550

[Bigun]

The Astros are fun to watch.   Like the Royals' teams when they first realized they were contenders.

But I don't care how 'fearsome' your lineup can be.   Good pitching will shut down hitting, especially in a short series.

Max Scherzer  ERA 1.95

Stephen Strasburg - ERA 2.89

Gio "Nat Gio" Gonzalez  ERA 1.35

Tanner Roark - ERA 3.64

Joe Ross  - only 11 innings pitched.   too small a sample size.

Gonna be a LONG hot summer! We'll see whos left standing in September.

[Cyber Liberty]

The Astros are fun to watch.   Like the Royals' teams when they first realized they were contenders.

But I don't care how 'fearsome' your lineup can be.   Good pitching will shut down hitting, especially in a short series.

Max Scherzer  ERA 1.95

Stephen Strasburg - ERA 2.89

Gio "Nat Gio" Gonzalez  ERA 1.35

Tanner Roark - ERA 3.64

Joe Ross  - only 11 innings pitched.   too small a sample size.

I'm glad Scherzer is working out for you.  He didn't do so well for us the last season he was here.  I always liked his style, though.

[DCPatriot]

Your guys did great last night, @DCPatriot!  Unfortunately, my Dbacks blew it in the Ninth, so we're still 1/2 game behind Colorado.   

The only players in major league baseball with more RBIs than Ryan Zimmerman (21) are this teammates Bryce Harper (22) and Daniel Murphy (22)

The other day, they were interviewing Dusty Baker on his decision to bat Ryan Zimmerman behind Bryce Harper instead of lefty Daniel Murphy....against right-handed pitching.

He was reminded that last year, Harper's woes started when the CUBS refused to pitch to him even if it meant loading the bases...and electing to pitch to Zimmerman, who at the time was half the player he exhibits today.

Anyway, Ray Knight, the NATS announcer took issue with that....as I did...that Harper's game-winning homerun last week on a 3-2 count was because Daniel Murphy was on deck.

[DCPatriot]

<snip>


Harper is off to a good start this season -- one that indicates he may be on track to have a season more like his 2015 performance than his 2016. Harper is leading the majors with a .418 batting average and is second with a 1.358 OPS.

But April wasn’t the issue last year, either. Harper hit nine HR in April last season and 15 the rest of the season, and that wasn’t the only rate that fell off. Harper hit .286 with an 1.121 OPS in April and followed it with a .235 batting average and a .759 OPS the rest of the season.

more at:   http://www.espn.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_/id/131492/april-28th-is-mike-trout-and-bryce-harper-day

[Cripplecreek]

Not strictly baseball but it should be interesting.

LIVE STREAM: ‘A New Day in Detroit’

http://www.foxsports.com/detroit/story/live-stream-a-new-day-in-detroit-042717


FOX Sports Detroit
Apr 27, 2017 at 1:17p ET

Narrated by Oscar-winner and Detroit’s own J.K. Simmons, “A New Day In Detroit” tells the story of the city’s renaissance through the eyes of movers and shakers, and everyday sports fans.

[DCPatriot]

HOLY COW!

NATS are up on the METS 23-5 in the 8th inning. 

Anthony Rendon has 10 RBI.

[Bigun]

HOLY COW!

NATS are up on the METS 23-5 in the 8th inning. 

Anthony Rendon has 10 RBI.

They will be qualified to run 50 yard dashes in the next olimpics at that rate.

[Cyber Liberty]

HOLY COW!

NATS are up on the METS 23-5 in the 8th inning. 

Anthony Rendon has 10 RBI.

Whoa!  Enjoy it while you can, 'cause you're against Phoenix Tuesday.   

[DCPatriot]

Whoa!  Enjoy it while you can, 'cause you're against Phoenix Tuesday.   

      

[Cyber Liberty]

     

Don't get all comfy.  We have a day off, and Walker's pitching.   

[EasyAce]

Noah's bark should have gotten a Mets bite
By Yours Truly
http://throneberryfields.com/2017/04/30/noahs-bark-should-have-gotten-a-mets-bite/

It’s one thing for baseball players to have the kind of contract negotiating autonomy they’ve enjoyed in the
free agency era. But it’s something else when the keys to the zoo get lifted by the animals, as the Mets may be
learning the hard way. Players may choose for whom they play when contracts expire, but they still, alas, have
bosses. Or so we thought.

Don’t be surprised if the 23-5 terrorist attacks the Nationals laid upon the Mets Sunday afternoon have a lot of
people wondering just who’s been running the Mets.

Because when Noah Syndergaard—scratched from his start against the Braves last Thursday due to a bicep and
shoulder discomfort—shenked an MRI appointment the day after, the purported ace of a team who swore they’d
be monitoring their youthful pitching staff very closely no matter what, he made them look like liars.

Syndergaard and, it’s been reported, a few coaches watching, swore he was fine throwing a bullpen session Friday.
But come Sunday, he tried throwing bullets that went few places he wanted them to go, avoiding Nats bats being
one of them. Then, he tried throwing a few offspeed pitches. In the second inning, with the Nats getting friskier,
Syndergaard strained his right lateral muscle and had to leave the game.

This is just what the Mets’ already overworked and beleaguered bullpen didn’t need, after two days’ worth of arduous
work in containing the Nats long enough for the Mets to take the first two of a weekend set.

Syndergaard and the Mets’ bosses, field level and front office alike, better hope and pray that Thor’s lat strain isn’t
serious enough to warrant a trip to the disabled list. But if they’d really been looking out for Syndergaard’s and the
team’s well being, they’d have done what New York Daily News columnist John Harper suggested hours after the
Sunday massacre, “exerted more influence, or flat told him that if he didn’t get [the Friday MRI] he was going on
the disabled list.”

Manager Terry Collins himself told reporters gambling with Met arms in general, and Syndergaard’s in particular
considering last week’s doings, was not an option. “It’s quite obvious we cannot take a chance on him,” Collins said,
“hurting this guy, especially when you’re talking about anything that runs into the shoulder to where he changes
his delivery and other things happen.”

Bergen Record columnist Bob Klapisch—who once wrote, with Harper, an excellent if troubling book about the horrific
1993 Mets, The Worst Team Money Could Buy—wasn’t quite as forgiving in his expression as Harper was.

Syndergaard could have made the [Friday MRI] episode easier for the Mets, if only he’d
been less petulant about the MRI. There was no reason for him to refuse, other than to
prove he could force the club to backpedal. Add that to an incident in the clubhouse,
where Syndergaard berated Jay Horwitz, the 70-year-old media relations director, and
you have the personality profile of an immature star, not a self-aware ace who understands
the responsibility of acting like one.

Remember this, too: Syndergaard was warned about the risk of a heavy weight-lifting
regimen that added thickness to his upper body last winter. The Mets were against his
unorthodox approach. Motion analysis expert Tom House said Syndergaard’s obsession
with new muscle was a “worst-case scenario.” House told The Record two months ago
that there was strong probability Syndergaard would be injured before June 1.

Syndergaard, however, blew off the prediction as casually as he said no to the MRI.
He knew better. “My arm is loose, my flexibility is good,” Thor said back in February.
“I’m not worried.”

Instead of getting a duly-scheduled MRI after one issue got him scratched from a scheduled start, where a possible
coming issue might have been prevented with a little smart management from there, Syndergaard played the side
of old-school thought that gets old-school thought a bad reputation in the first place.

I don’t need no MRI. I’m tough! I’m the Mighty Thor!! Thou shalt have no other gods of thunder before me!!!

Except that he wasn’t, on Sunday. A Mets bullpen in dire need of at least two thirds of a day off got yanked into action
early, with little enough reserve, and—after the Mets had carved their way back to within one run—the Nats violated
their Eighth Amendment rights.

It got bad enough that manager Terry Collins got backup catcher Kevin Plawecki to pitch two innings. If Plawecki
volunteered, he should be nominated for a Nobel Prize. The good news was Plawecki getting three outs to end
the seventh.

The bad news was, he got them after Josh Smoker, perhaps the last man standing in the Mets’ bullpen, surrendered
an RBI double to Daniel Murphy, a run scoring on an infield error, and a three-run homer to Matt Wieters.

Then, Plawecki got three outs in the eighth. The worse news was, he got those after Bryce Harper opened by hitting
a ball-one pitch into the right center field seats, Ryan Zimmerman followed promptly with a base hit, pinch hitter
Adam Lind followed that with a short over the center field fence, and Anthony Rendon—adding a cherry-and-whipped
cream topping to his history-making sundae afternoon (6-for-6 with ten steaks, the highest-ever RBI total of any 6-for-6
man)—blasted his third bomb of the day into the left field bleachers.

Take one for the team? Plawecki took the tail end of the London Blitz.

I’ve written that baseball players shouldn’t have to apologise for becoming injured in the line of duty. But if they’re
foolish enough with injuries, and it leads to disaster almost at once, maybe they should be made to write 100 times,
“I will not shenk my MRI. I will not shenk my MRI.”

Don’t even think about it: the Players’ Association wouldn’t have had a leg to stand on if the Mets gave Syndergaard
the not-so-fast order when learning Syndergaard planned to shenk Friday’s MRI. As Harper pointed out, should the
Players’ Association have claimed the Mets were trying to strong-arm an uninjured player, the Mets would have
countered what happened to be true: it was Syndergaard himself who first reported his biceps and shoulder issue
last Wednesday night.

“Would the MRI have disclosed a lat issue or reaffirmed some concern about the bicep?” asked general manager
Sandy Alderson about Syndergaard’s stubbornness. “We’ll never know.” The Mets may know sooner than they
think. Because guess why Syndergaard wasn’t available to talk after the game? He was high-tailing it to New York
for a Monday appointment.

For an MRI.

And don’t think the Mets weren’t tempted to order the MRI operators to have his head examined while they were
at it.

Collins—who flipped and threw a cup when an admittedly foolish reporter asked if he was upset over Syndergaard’s
lat strain (that’s like asking Poland if it was upset about being the receiving end of the war-opening Nazi blitz)—has always
sounded the call of accountability from his players. If ever that call needed to be sounded, it was Sunday, before
Thor could escape.

The Mets should have ordered Syndergaard to stay put until after Sunday, Bloody Sunday finally ended and he could
face the press explaining himself. After he made them look like chumps before leaving his team to human rights
violations, it’s the least the Mets could have asked of their purported ace.

Update: Syndergaard underwent the MRI today. Torn lat muscle. The Mets say there's no time frame for his return,
but you might care to rememember Steven Matz missed two months with the same injury in 2015.

[TomSea]

Just posting here:

Red Sox apologize for fans' racial taunts toward Adam Jones
    By The Associated Press
BOSTON — May 2, 2017, 12:06 PM ET

 Boston Red Sox President Sam Kennedy is apologizing for fans at Fenway Park taunting Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones with racial slurs.

Kennedy also apologized Tuesday for a fan throwing peanuts at Jones during Monday night's game. He said the organization is "sickened by the conduct of an ignorant few."

Jones, who is black, said he was "called the N-word a handful of times" in quotes reported by USA Today Sports and The Boston Globe.

"It's unfortunate that people need to resort to those type of epithets to degrade another human being," Jones said.

Continued: http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/report-orioles-adam-jones-claims-racist-taunts-boston-47150545

I've been to a game and what was some loud person in the stand calling one of the players on the field some name, "loser" or something like that but clearly nothing like this reported incident in Boston.  Some name-calling of course, is not altogether uncommon. Racial slurs? The fan should face a 1 season ban at least I'd say.  At least, for that kind of name-calling.