BASEBALL 2017---Bring it On!!!

[Bigun]

Astros Win! Astros win!  ASTROS WIN AGAIN!

ALCS Astros 2 Yankees 0

[Polly Ticks]

Astros Win! Astros win!  ASTROS WIN AGAIN!

ALCS Astros 2 Yankees 0

Great game from Verlander, and Altuve is amazing!

[Bigun]

Great game from Verlander, and Altuve is amazing!

MVP!

[EasyAce]

I just hope Justin Verlander wasn't burned out for this one---124 pitches.

[TomSea]

If the Astros win the series against NY; it's hard to see the NL being able to defeat them. But this has really been about pitching so we will see.

[Bigun]

I just hope Justin Verlander wasn't burned out for this one---124 pitches.

He'll be just fine.  A few years ago there would have not been anyone keeping  count and it didn't seem to make much of a difference.

[EasyAce]

He'll be just fine.  A few years ago there would have not been anyone keeping  count and it didn't seem to make much of a difference.

Hence one reason why, to name just two, Mark Prior and Kerry Wood got burned to careers on
the disabled list. Come to think of it, back in 1967-69, one wishes someone had kept an
eye on Denny McLain's work load. Put aside all his other issues (not exactly simple), and the
real reason he ended up going from right-handed-Koufax-great to burned out was what that
three-season workload did to his shoulder. His shoulder, essentially, resigned its commission.

Maybe one such game won't do much damage to Verlander, but the Astros
would still be wise to keep an eye on him until they can pitch him on his regular rest again. And
since these Yankees aren't pushovers, the Astros will very likely be handing Verlander the ball
at least once more in this set.

[Bigun]

Hence one reason why, to name just two, Mark Prior and Kerry Wood got burned to careers on
the disabled list. Maybe one such game won't do much damage to Verlander, but the Astros
would still be wise to keep an eye on him until they can pitch him on his regular rest again. And
since these Yankees aren't pushovers, the Astros will very likely be handing Verlander the ball
at least once more in this set.

Yep!  He'll get the ball again next Wednesday or Thursday if it goes that far.

And the Yanks are in far worse shape IMHO.

[GrouchoTex]

MVP!

Great performance.

[musiclady]

Seems appropriate to begin with this: Turns out Mary Tyler Moore had one hell of a great eephus pitch!
(She was also a lefthander.) Watch her hit the corner with this one, before a 2002 Twins game . . .

Watch a smiling Mary Tyler Moore throw a very cheery first pitch for the Twins in 2002

I bet she could have snuck that one past Ted Williams . . . !

I LOVE it!!!!!

wtg, Mary!!  Now that's MY kind of woman. 

[TomSea]

Daniel Webb, former White Sox pitcher killed in ATV accident:

http://www.newschannel5.com/news/former-mlb-pitcher-daniel-webb-killed-in-atv-crash-in-tennessee

Rest In Peace.

[Cyber Liberty]

Daniel Webb, former White Sox pitcher killed in ATV accident:

http://www.newschannel5.com/news/former-mlb-pitcher-daniel-webb-killed-in-atv-crash-in-tennessee

Rest In Peace.

OMG!  He was only 28! 

[Slip18]

I LOVE it!!!!!

wtg, Mary!!  Now that's MY kind of woman. 

Mary also had diabetes since childhood.  She almost lost both feet years before this outstanding pitch.  She was a fine woman!

Nice one, Easy! @EasyAce

Just got another load of books, old ones!  I have only opened one box of three.  Three of the books that I want to read at the same time are:

Lee Allen, "100 Years of Baseball";
William B. Mead, "Even The Browns"; and
Louis Kaufman, Barbara Fitgerald and Tom Sewell, "Moe Berg, Athlete, Scholar...Spy."

There were more in this box, one is "Sparky" by Sparky Anderson with Dan Ewald.

Here is a teaser on the back jacket of the 100 Years book: What outfielder made the first unassisted triple play?  Hehehe!

Do you know?

[Slip18]

OMG!  He was only 28!

@TomSea

How very sad.  May he rest in peace.

[EasyAce]

Louis Kaufman, Barbara Fitgerald and Tom Sewell, "Moe Berg, Athlete, Scholar...Spy."

@Slip18
Better:

[Slip18]

@Slip18
Better:

Hoping that will be in another box!  Fascinating story in the 30s era.  A catcher for the Indians.  Too interesting! 

Just perusing through it, Berg was on a U.S. team to Japan with Ruth, Gehrig, "Lefty" Lopez, et.al., for a game in Japan!  Berg and Ruth became great friends aboard the --italics here "Empress" / end italics -- with Connie Mack.

Who would have thunk?  I really want to read the end first as I am wont to do, but I won't.  LOL!

[Cyber Liberty]

I think your Duke Snider ball is in there somewhere with those books....

[Slip18]

I think your Duke Snider ball is in there somewhere with those books....

I needed a page marker for my book, so I used my seam ripper and cut off a little piece of the ball.  That's okay, isn't it?  I did not want to mess up the book!

 

[DCPatriot]

http://deadspin.com/john-lackey-should-be-in-jail-1819503434

John Lackey Should Be In Jail

John Ley





Before John Lackey gave up a walk-off three-run homer to Justin Turner in Game 2 of the NLCS, he treated viewers of the game to a special version of baseball hell.

Before getting his shit wrecked by Turner, Lackey threw six pitches to Chris Taylor. Due to Lackey’s seemingly compulsive inability to throw the ball to the plate in a timely manner, it took him five whole minutes to throw six pitches. Here is video of the entire sequence, sped up 500x normal speed out of respect for your time:

video at link

[Polly Ticks]

I needed a page marker for my book, so I used my seam ripper and cut off a little piece of the ball.  That's okay, isn't it?  I did not want to mess up the book!

 

@Slip18  I'm just kind of happy to hear that someone else still has/uses a seam ripper.

[Polly Ticks]

Due to Lackey’s seemingly compulsive inability to throw the ball to the plate in a timely manner, it took him five whole minutes to throw six pitches. Here is video of the entire sequence, sped up 500x normal speed out of respect for your time:

Ugh.  Watched it live, have no desire to re-watch ...even at 500x normal speed!
 

Crazy.

[Machiavelli]

@EasyAce
@Slip18

I posted this a few months ago on another thread. I've modified it here:


Baseball books I've read and enjoyed:

The Long Season -- Jim Brosnan
The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant (source of the musical, Damn Yankees!) -- Douglass Wallop
Veeck -- As in Wreck -- Bill Veeck, with Ed Linn*
Fear Strikes Out -- Jimmy Piersall
The Fireside Book of Baseball -- Charles Einstein, Ed. **
The Second Fireside Book of Baseball -- Charles Einstein, Ed. **
Baseball is a Funny Game -- Joe Garagiola

Unfortunately I've not read the Henry Wiggen tetralogy (The Southpaw, Bang the Drum Slowly, A Ticket for a Seamstitch, It Looked Like For Ever) by Mark Harris.

Years ago I started to read Ball Four but got disgusted with Jim Bouton's moral posturing.

Books that I thought sucked big time:

Pull Up a Chair: The Vin Scully Story -- Curt Smith

*Ed Linn is FReeper Hildy's late father. (1), (2)

** Einstein also edited The Third Fireside Book of Baseball which I have not read.

[Slip18]

@EasyAce
@Slip18

I posted this a few months ago on another thread. I've modified it here:


Baseball books I've read and enjoyed:

The Long Season -- Jim Brosnan
The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant (source of the musical, Damn Yankees!) -- Douglass Wallop
Veeck -- As in Wreck -- Bill Veeck, with Ed Linn*
Fear Strikes Out -- Jimmy Piersall
The Fireside Book of Baseball -- Charles Einstein, Ed. **
The Second Fireside Book of Baseball -- Charles Einstein, Ed. **
Baseball is a Funny Game -- Joe Garagiola

Unfortunately I've not read the Henry Wiggen tetralogy (The Southpaw, Bang the Drum Slowly, A Ticket for a Seamstitch, It Looked Like For Ever) by Mark Harris.

Years ago I started to read Ball Four but got disgusted with Jim Bouton's moral posturing.

Books that I thought sucked big time:

Pull Up a Chair: The Vin Scully Story -- Curt Smith

*Ed Linn is FReeper Hildy's late father. (1), (2)

** Einstein also edited The Third Fireside Book of Baseball which I have not read.

@EasyAce

I know I just got a book by Jim Bouton, but I can't put my fingers on it.

Got some hysterical books, too.  These are old and barely used books that I got in an auction for $1, perhaps three times, plus postage and handling.  I love books!

I was going to ask you, Machiavelli, if after the World Series is over and everything gets dull because who is watching football, I could post a few very short stories from "Tales From The Dugout" by Mike Shannon. It was printed in 1997, and is copyrighted with all rights reserved.

The stories are short and hysterical.  I don't even know if I can text them without permission.  How long does a copyright continue?

There are short stories that are true according to the writer on some such players as Catfish Hunter, Mickie Mantle, Roger Marris, Tim Belcher, Don Drysdale, Bob Feller, Sandy Koufax, Willie Mays and a whole lot more.  Of course, Yogi Berra is in this book, too.

I have read about three.  Funny stuff. 

Would you like me to post some stories, if it is legal, after the World Series?

I, honestly, will miss my new found friends in here if we quit posting until spring training!

What do you think?

And I would bet ya that Easy has heard all of the stories and can add to them!

 

[Slip18]

@Machiavelli

Jim Bouton, "I'm Glad You Didn't Take It Personally." I recognized that name.  I did not even look through it.

@Cyber Liberty Cyber told me to check the books to see if there was cash inside because some people put cash in their books!  Nope, only a scrawled piece of pink paper in three books. LOL!

 

[Machiavelli]

I was going to ask you, Machiavelli, if after the World Series is over and everything gets dull because who is watching football, I could post a few very short stories from "Tales From The Dugout" by Mike Shannon. It was printed in 1997, and is copyrighted with all rights reserved.

@Slip18 I don't have a problem with it if @mystery-ak doesn't.

Remember, if the stories are indeed copyrighted, you'll have to post a short excerpt and then link them. You can only post them in their entirety if they are in the Public Domain.