And the season is under way

[Frayed Knot]

Yanx @ Nats, Scherzer vs Cole

And I think, particularly given the shortened season, that we have to root for the Bronx in this one. Problem is, I'm pretty much incapable of doing so.

Of course with 37 teams from each league making the playoffs, it might not matter as much.



And Giancarlo has taken Scherzer deep w/2 outs in the top of the 1st for a 2-0 lead.





Giants @ Dodgers later

[Lefty Specialist]

Adam Eaton gets half of it right back. Hey, these pitchers suck.

[Lefty Specialist]

Oof. Anthony Fauci should NOT give up his day job.

[Frayed Knot]

I suppose I could just root for each team's pitching staff (and particularly their aces) to get their butts kicked back and forth as Adam Eaton joins Stanton as being on pace for Babe Ruth's best single season HR total.

[kcmets]

Late night TV should have some fun with Fauci's delivery tomorrow.

[Fman99]

And now we're in a rain delay. Hated team beating other hated team 4-1 in the 6th. I'm rooting for the lightning.

[Frayed Knot]

Lefty Specialist wrote: Oof. Anthony Fauci should NOT give up his day job.

He was just showing America how to flatten the curve.

Or maybe it was the slider, I dunno.

[Ceetar]

=Fman99 post_id=41365 time=1595552054 user_id=86]
And now we're in a rain delay. Hated team beating other hated team 4-1 in the 6th. I'm rooting for the lightning.

[Edgy MD]

Maybe it's me, but I'm under the impression that first pitches are getting worse every year, as throwing a baseball becomes more alien to the adult body every year.

[Fman99]

Carrot Top on the hill for L.A., or so it would seem.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

I don't recognize about half the guys in the Giants boxscore including their cleanup hitter. Wilmer, batting second, starting at 3B, and wearing #41, went 1-for-4

[Benjamin Grimm]

Ex-Mets are allowed to wear 41?



That seems wrong somehow.

[batmagadanleadoff]

'The first step': Yankees, Nationals players all kneel before national anthem in MLB opener



Excerpt:

In a coordinated gesture between the reigning World Series champion Washington Nationals and New York Yankees before the first major league game played this year Thursday night, players clutched a black cloth that winded from the Nationals' first base line around to the Yankees on the third-base line.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2020/07/23/mlb-opening-day-yankees-nationals-players-kneel-before-national-anthem/5498230002/https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2020/07/23/mlb-opening-day-yankees-nationals-players-kneel-before-national-anthem/5498230002/



________________



All Mets, Braves stand for national anthem on Opening Day at Citi Field



Excerpt:

Every player on the Mets and Braves stood for the national anthem on Friday....

https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-mets-anthem-kneeling-opening-day-20200724-afonkfs24vey5ho4dvxnshbhsi-story.htmlhttps://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-mets-anthem-kneeling-opening-day-20200724-afonkfs24vey5ho4dvxnshbhsi-story.html



_____________



I'm beginning to think that the Mets are, for the most part, made up of scumbag redneck Republicans. If I was a major leaguer, I'd kneel for the whole national anthem. If I was later asked why, I'd say that I'd knelt in support of the BLM movement, but mostly to defy and irritate our scumbag vile president, who's against athletes kneeling.

[Frayed Knot]

There are live fans at Wrigley.

Well not IN Wrigley Field but while the Cubs can close their stadium to spectators they don't control the buildings across the street so the roof-tops there have (sparsely packed) people in those seats making it

so that there are at least some live bodies watching baseball so far this season.

[Edgy MD]

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=41570 time=1595641377 user_id=68]I'm beginning to think that the Mets are, for the most part, made up of scumbag redneck Republicans. If I was a major leaguer, I'd kneel for the whole national anthem. If I was later asked why, I'd say that I'd knelt in support of the BLM movement, but mostly to defy and irritate our scumbag vile president, who's against athletes kneeling.

[kcmets]

I thought the pre-game ceremonies at Shea-Citi this afternoon were rather tasteful.

Zero scumbag stuff detected here. But some people see what they want/need to see.

[batmagadanleadoff]

=kcmets post_id=41576 time=1595643821 user_id=53]
I thought the pre-game ceremonies at Shea-Citi this afternoon were rather tasteful.

Zero scumbag stuff detected here. But some people see what they want/need to see.

[kcmets]

You're embarrassing yourself, the pre-game ceremonies were uplifting and inspiring.

[batmagadanleadoff]

What a sap. The national anthem is a moronic way to start a baseball game. You know what's uplifting? Colin Kaepernick, that's what.



What uplifing and inspiring?!? You were taking a shot at me for preferring the kneelers over the stander-uppers. Your post had nothing to do with the players or the opening ceremonies other than as pretext.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

In other news the Phillies lost (to Miami). So not a bad start

[kcmets]

Edited for clarity:



Everyone who had martyrdom at 2-1, go get your four dollars at Window B.


=batmagadanleadoff post_id=41578 time=1595644495 user_id=68]I saw nobody kneeling.

Edited July 24, 2020 by Guest

[Edgy MD]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: In other news the Phillies lost (to Miami). So not a bad start

I suppose this could be one of those cyclical years that the Miami talent all blooms after a selloff a few seasons prior.

[Ceetar]

Every Yankee and National stood too, a large portion of the Nationals visited the White House just this last November, and the Yankees are inviting 45 to throw out at pitch at Yankee Stadium, so while yes, the Mets are probably mostly scumbag redneck republicans, they've still got a leg up on those two I guess, mostly by omissions. (The Mets supposedly have a 'surprise' person throwing out a first pitch in August, which most are assuming to mean Cuomo)



It's worth noting I don't think I heard a single reference to the police during any of these things, though admittedly I haven't been watching them religiously or anything, but I've seen no quotes or references to it. The closest is perhaps the Rays reminding people it's a good day to arrest the scumbags who murdered Breonna Taylor. It's great that this movement and the idea of unity and patches and support is leaguewide, but damn, sanitize the hell of it no?

[Frayed Knot]

So, the game had its first' tiebreaker' rule enacted Friday night. For the record Shohei Ohtani was the first player to hit a "magic double" as Gary Cohen has suggested it be named.

Problem was that Ohtani then got thrown out at 3rd on a grounder to 1st ... which was a double shame as the next batter singled. The Angels then popped out, walked and grounded out to kill the inning.



The bottom half of the 10th saw Hansel Robles on the mound to face the A's. So he plunks the first hitter; got a K for the first out but then threw a Wild Pitch followed by a walk [bases loaded / one out].

Out goes Robles, in comes someone named Hoby Milner (sounds like a ranch hand in on old western movie) ... who proceeds to give up a Grand Slam on his very first pitch.



Thanks for not coming, please stay home safely.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Frayed Knot wrote: The bottom half of the 10th saw Hansel Robles on the mound to face the A's. So he plunks the first hitter....

Wouldn't this "magic double" rule encourage or provide incentive for a visiting team pitcher in extra innings in a tied game, if so inclined, to plunk the first batter he faces in the inning? The plunked runner on first is meaningless with the winning run already magically doubled to second base. And tactically, the beaning sets up force plays on all the baserunners.

[Benjamin Grimm]

An intentional walk would accomplish the same thing, without the threat of a wild pitch or an ejection.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Yes. That's why I wrote "so inclined". Didn't Robles have a perpetual mean streak?

[Edgy MD]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: An intentional walk would accomplish the same thing, without the threat of a wild pitch or an ejection.

Or a magic walk, to ameliorate the effect of a magic double.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Yup. And knowing Robles that was his plan

[kcmets]

What a sap. The national anthem is a moronic way to start a baseball game. You know what's uplifting? Colin Kaepernick, that's what. What uplifing and inspiring?!? You were taking a shot at me for preferring the kneelers over the stander-uppers. Your post had nothing to do with the players or the opening ceremonies other than as pretext.

I was doing no such thing. In your typical rush to nail yourself to the cross, call me

names, and be generally mean you forgot that I've taken no real stance on kneeling

versus standing AND as recently as a week or so ago said the national anthem was

outdated and should/could be fazed out.



The ironically amusing thing is you're easily the most Trump-like personality here.



"Sad."