Frayed Knot

7 extra starts and 50-some more innings pitched is a good argument in Seaver's favor and enough to make up for minor differences in WHiP.

... the worst collapse in baseball history was completed. Red Sox 10 -- Yanx 3 - Sox get 2 in the 1st on a 2R HR by Papi off MFY starter Kevin Brown - Brown loads the bases with just one out in the 2nd and gets yanked in favor of Javier Vazquez. Damon promptly hit Vazquez's first pitch for a grand slam and it was 6-0 Sawx - a second Damon HR (2R) in the 4th made it 8-1 - but I distinctly remember getting a bit nervous when Pedro came in to relieve in the 7th for seemingly no reason other than to allow him to be a part of the moment. He quickly gave up 2 runs on 3 hits + an SB in a four batter span and, with 8 outs still to get and the previous year's Boston collapse still in recent memory, things started to get a bit tight even with the 5 run lead. However Pedro was able to retire past-NYM John Olerud & future NYM (no matter how much you might want to deny it) Miguel Cairo to end the mini-threat. - Sox tacked on one run in each of the 8th & 9th innings. - Ruben Sierra grounded out with 2 on in the 9th to end the game Of the players on those two squads, only Derek Jeter & David Ortiz played in that game and also in the 2014 season, which of course leaves only Papi active for 2015 Bronson Arroyo (appeared in that series for Boston but not in that game) & Jason Giambi (was on the Yanx that season but not active for that series) are the only other players from either of those teams still active in 2014 and both (JG = 45 y/o by next spring, BA = 38) are coming off injuries and seem iffy at best to return next year. oe: plus there was that A-Rod guy -- played in that season and that series / not active this past year / likely to play in 2015 That ambiguous "active" status for him in 2014 is going to screw up a lot of factoids and trivia questions for years to come in a similar way that the various strike seasons do.

EVERY manager with three WS or more is in the HoF which has a lot of folks talking up Bochy this week for all the obvious reasons.

Heard Tim Kurkjian relating a story the other day about Bochy, a typical low-offense backup catcher in his playing days, getting a rare game-winning hit. As a tribute his Padres teammates awarded him a six-pack of beer in the clubhouse after the game. They put it in his locker ... on ice ... in his helmet! Nothing like having a catcher's helmet big enough to double as a cooler.

* Additionally, at one of the AFL parks they're going to experiment with visible pitch clocks, operated independently of the umpiring crew, which will require the pitcher to pitch within 20 seconds of the batter stepping in the box. --- I've long been wary of a 'shot-clock' type of solution, but the league has put themselves into situation where it might be the best answer. The average AFL game under the 'pitch clock' conditions so far has been 2:38, a figure which includes yesterday's 11 inning tie game which went 3:12 The actual clock is only being used in one location in the AFL and so the sample here is still only a handful of games. The first game or two did have some automatic balls called as a penalty for not delivering the pitch within the set amount of time although not in this most recent one as the players start getting used to the rule.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: God, I'd have to drink a lot more on mornings before day games after night games if we brought in Cervelli. As would I. I'm just throwing out examples here and the Yanx are in a situation where they're locked into McCann for a while, can't really DH/1B him except on occasions on account of having to DH Beltran, ARod, and Teixeira on a semi- (or more) regular basis just to keep them on the field, and are always said to have young catching prospects* just about ready to move up. That means a Cervelli type would be a guy they'd want to move and that he's an example of a backup capable of starting for a time if your main guy goes down. Better fit than Recker? ... I dunno, higher BA, lower power, not sure on the defense. Bigger A-hole? ... no doubt. * although these supposedly good and numerous NYY catching prospects rarely seem to pan out. The latest is Gary Sanchez but he's probably at least a year away and who knows whether he just winds up in the pile with the others in the post-Posada era who aren't enough to stop them from going out an signing the likes of Brian McCann into his mid-30s

So how about Bochy's use of Yusmeiro Petit in the post-season so far? - he's only been called on in 2 of the 9 games for SF, but in those 2 he's totaled 9 innings (a 6-inning outing in the 18-inning game, plus a 3-inning stint in Game 4 vs StL): [u:1qoz11rs]0 Runs on 2 Hits[/u:1qoz11rs], 4 BBs, and 11 Ks, getting credit for the win both times

And like Ventura's shot, Ishikawa's was ending the game whether it cleared the fence or not. The only question was the final score. I still say the coolest thing about watching the GSS was that Brian Jordan's first move was to trot in from RF without even a glance towards the ball. It was the first thing I noticed at the time and it's still cool today.

One of the Giants came off the bench and intercepted Ishikawa between 1st & 2nd last night but he just pushed on through and completed his trip.

[fimg=425:1amm4qdq]http://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/royalgiants.jpg[/fimg:1amm4qdq] Musically speaking: they'll never be Royals, but they might be giants.

But someone who's capable of being a full-time starter isn't going to come to Queens with d'Arnaud seemingly entrenched and Plawecki on the verge, which means any import will simply be a different backup. So is there a better one out there who's available and better than Recker??? What do you want to give the Yanx for either Cervelli (29 y/o - .301/.370/.432 over 150 ABs) or John Ryan Murphy (.284/.317/.370 over 81 ABs)?

seawolf17 wrote: I honestly don't understand the love affair with Anthony Recker. I have zero attachment to him. It's the dreamy eyes and broad shoulders. But seriously folks ... assuming that d'Arnaud version 2nd-half.0 is real and plays 80% of the time or more next year, then the specific identity of the backup catcher isn't going to matter all that much. Backup backstops need to play decent defense (he does) and supply something with the bat either in the form of hitting from the opposite side as the starter (no) or be a threat to knock one out of the park every once in a while (Big YES) I'm all ears for anyone who has suggestions for a different backup, but it'll probably be a lateral move at best. And if d'Arnaud either falters or gets injured then the backup is simply going to be backing up Plawecki instead.

Yeah, I don't see any immediate need to be addressed here. But there will be questions to be answered as the season progresses, the biggest being that, with Plawecki coming on fast, d'Arnaud has to both prove he can stay on the field AND improve defensively if he wants to keep his job. Sounds odd to say that after such a good offensive second half but that improved offense also shows he maybe has the bat to carry off a different position (LF for example) if we should suddenly find ourselves overburdened with good, young catchers. The other alternative would be that one of them becomes trade bait.

Good news: should be a fun WS Bad news: no baseball until Tuesday

Just about all the games within each of the series have been really tight and mostly well-played, but in total the combined six series have only gone a total of 3 games over the minimum.

Nice redemption for Ishikawa who had to feel like shit after mis-judging that 1st inning hit

... and now a series-losing HR

When I dropped into that Cards forum the other night they were bitching about Matheny bringing in Choate (who quickly gave up a hit and walk) rather than Wacha And now Wacha comes in and quickly gives up a hit and a walk.

Kudos to Bochy for having the guts to pull his closer for a specialist in mid-inning.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: . . . _ _ _ . . . _ _ _ That shot was more than just so-so. Now if only Morse wasn't such a meathead.

MFS62 wrote: Someone on the radio this week (Joe and Evan show on WFAN?) said that 7 of the 8 best teams played in the more pitcher friendly parks. But I'd like to see if the final 2014 Park Factor numbers back this up. But even if that's true, is that a constant trend or just a one-year variation? A hitter's park didn't adversely affect the Phils in 2008 or for the better part of a decade for that matter (until all their players got old all at once, now it suddenly is the park's fault .... funny how that happens). The Yanx did OK for themselves in 2009 when their new park seemed to play even easier for offense then their old one, as have the Rays recently despite their ballpark and their financial limitations. And are we going to cite the BoSox park as the reason for their failures in 2012 & 2014 or as the reason for their success in 2013? Yadda, yadda. And all this presumes the idea that parks can all be sorted into an either/or category. What this "fact" sounds like to me is one being cited by someone eager to massage something so as to make the outcome fit his pre-determined conclusion - and that it's vein paraded on Benigno's show doesn't surprise me. He's the king of reaching his conclusion first and worrying about whether it's actually true later on if at all.

No relation to the Floyd/Brian Bannisters, Jeff Banister joins Walt Alston in the club of ML managers with just one ML AB - but in his case it was a PH single vs Dan Petry of the 1991 Braves TEAMMANAGERSIGNED THRUSTATUSMETSTerry Collins2015 + option for '16BRAVESFredi Gonzalez2015PHILLIESRyne Sandberg2016 + option for '17NATIONALSMatt Williams2015 + options for �16 + �17MARLINSMike Redmond2015CARDINALSMike Matheny2017PIRATESClint Hurdle2017 + option for �18CUBSRick Renteria2016 + options for �17 + �18REDSBryan Price2016BREWERSRon Roenicke2015 + option for �16DODGERSDon Mattingly2016GIANTSBruce Bochy2016PADRESBud Black2015DBACKSKirk Gibson2014 -- Fired, Sept 2014Chip Hale hired for 2015-16ROCKIESWalt Weiss2016RED SOXJohn Farrell2016YANKEESJoe Girardi2017ORIOLESBuck Showalter2018BLUE JAYSJohn Gibbons2015 + option for �16RAYSJoe Maddon2015TIGERSBrad Ausmus2016 + option for �17INDIANSTerry Francona2016ROYALSNed Yost2015TWINSRon Gardenhire2015Fired Sept �14WHITE SOXRobin Ventura2014ANGELSMike Scioscia2018RANGERSRon Washington2014 - Resigned Sept 2014Hired Jeff BanisterMARINERSLloyd McClendon201?ASTROSBo PorterFired Sept 2014AJ Hinch - Hired Sept 2014ATHLETICSBob Melvin2016

I don't think there's any correlation between stadium dimensions and market size, or between dimensions and competitiveness. The original to me was bad simply because it was so over-the-top big in LF (make the walls deep or make them high, but don't make them both) and too quirky in RF by at least half. I was fine with what they went to and it would be fine with me if they left it alone now even though I doubt the new changes are going to make any difference in the team's fortunes one way or the other.

- There are rules for changing (can't be done within a year for instance) and they do require MLB approval, although it may be permissible as often as once per year. - There are also minimum distances for walls but many of those got waived in the 90s/2000s era of stadium building for design purposes (i.e.: manufactured 'character') see: YSIII, Houston, etc. - Steinbrenner used to pull in his LF wall whenever the Yanx signed a RH power hitter (Winfield, Jack Clark) while always denying that that was why they were doing it. I'm kind of indifferent to this change. I thought the first time they did it was more necessary but the idea that this one will either help or hurt the home team is speculative at best and probably marginal even if correct.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: It's nice to see some of these Card fans get salty about it, too, innit? Mets � Willets Point wrote: Just figured out how Pablo Sandoval got his nickname. Only... that's not it. (The build, the agility... and the fact that the movie was popular right around the time he got the nickname.) Yeah, as I recall it was Barry Zito who hung the nickname on Sandoval after seeing similarities in the bouncy athleticism coupled with the roly-poly body of both the rookie 3B-man and the newly popular movie character.