TWiB Notes -- July 9th thru July 15

[Frayed Knot]

The last one of these occurred we had expired the day after I went to the DL.
Not particularly surprised that no one else took up the assignment as I'm mostly just talking to myself with these, but if I was to give up talking to myself around here about 80% of my
posts would be eliminated.




-- Always nice to see the Yanx, who are playing a DH at the same time as the Mets, lose not just a game but one after jumping out to a 3-0 lead to the putrid Orioles.
The O's (and the Royals too) are staying just above the .250 mark, aka: the '62 Mets level. And once they 'empty out' their rosters, who knows how low either/or of those teams could sink.



-- Yasiel Puig to the DL which, considering how jammed up the NL West is, could be a big deal.
Only 3.5 games currently separates all the teams not named Padres

[Frayed Knot]

Fun fact of the day: The Toronto Blue Jays have started seven different Shortstops this season who hail from six different countries, and none of the six are the US of A

Aledmys Diaz and Lourdes Gurriel - Cuba
Gift Ngoepe - South Africa
Yangervis Solarte - Venezuela
Gio Urshela - Colombia
Richard Urena - Dominican Republic
Russell Martin - Canada

[MFS62]

Frayed Knot wrote: Russell Martin - Canada

I had to double clutch when I saw this.
Yes, boys and girls, that is longtime major league catcher Russell Martin, who has 3 games at short so far this year.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Martin takes ground balls at SS almost daily and was finally able to talk his way into the starting lineup there for one game this year.

[MFS62]

Frayed Knot wrote: Martin takes ground balls at SS almost daily and was finally able to talk his way into the starting lineup there for one game this year.

Baseball-reference says three games , one start (an entire game) and a total of 10 innings .... so far.
Craig Biggio moved from catcher to second (and later outfield), but golly. Short? I'm impressed.
He probably has more range than Jeter ever had. (I needed that)

Later

[Edgy MD]

MFS62 wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: Russell Martin - Canada I had to double clutch when I saw this. Yes, boys and girls, that is longtime major league catcher Russell Martin, who has 3 games at short so far this year. Later

He played short against the Mets.

[MFS62]

Edgy MD wrote: MFS62 wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: Russell Martin - Canada I had to double clutch when I saw this. Yes, boys and girls, that is longtime major league catcher Russell Martin, who has 3 games at short so far this year. Later He played short against the Mets.

D'oh. That's what I get for only looking at one side of the box score.

Later

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Jonathan Lucroy.

[tweet:1bt3odec]

[/tweet:1bt3odec]

[Edgy MD]

Tough break, Engelberg.

[Frayed Knot]

Seemingly nothing out of the ordinary after a HR during a high scoring game at Coors Field involving DBacks' 3B Daniel Descalso and Rox hurler German Marquez ... except that it was Marquez
who HR'd off of Descalso.

The Rox were getting blown out in a game that would eventually end 19-2, so they went to the alternate bullpen plan early bringing in utility man Descalso [u:3ah0dj3p]in the 5th[/u:3ah0dj3p] for what turned out to be
2-2/3 innings (3 ER on 4 hits) before he gave way to catcher Alex Avila for the final 2 frames (2 scoreless, 1-hit innings)

It was Marquez's first ML HR and the first pitcher-off-position player HR since 1986

[bmfc1]

Goodbye Mike Matheney, now the former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals. I guess saying that it was simply "old school" for Bud Norris to bully a rookie was not a good idea. As for the new manager, Shildt Happens... Al Shildt.
[tweet:15efax9z]

[/tweet:15efax9z]

[Frayed Knot]

First Cardinal manager fired mid-season since ... Joe Torre with the 20-27 Cards back in 1995

Matheny was in the midst of his seventh season leaving only La Russa, Schoendinst, and Herzog as guys who managed more StL games than Matheny's 1,064 and all of them (along with Torre for
that matter) are in the HoF*.
The kicker is that Matheny's record as skipper (.555) is better than all four of them. But, as pointed out, there's been clubhouse trouble lately and this is looking to be their 3rd straight season
without post-season play (3rd in NLC - 7.5 games out) and maybe their first sub-.500 year since 2007 (currently 47-45)


* Red more as a player than a manager, but still.






BoSox hit their 9th Grand Slam of the season on Saturday (and their 3rd in the last week or so), this one a 10th inning walk-off from Xander Bogaerts
Didn't the Mets go like two-plus seasons at one point not that long ago without hitting any?