Frayed Knot

So I went out tonight, getting back a bit after 10:00, and figured I'd go cruising around for baseball scores/hi-lights. MLBN has scores on their crawl, but they're basically doing cut-ins on active games on account of their scheduled game (at Oakland) being rained out (first rainout in Oakland since 1998 btw) and I was looking to get some Yanqui hi-lights and stuff so I looked to SportsCenter. More than half an hour later and the only baseball was about 30 seconds of the Dodger game (apparently they're the new favorite) including an interview with Yasiel Puig in Spanish. Other than that it's interviews with college basketball coaches (for games that won't be played for five days), comments about the interviews with basketball coaches, and stuff about Tiger. It's all right guys, it's not like it's Opening Day for a bunch of clubs or anything. Fuck Bristol, Connecticut!

Yanquis DFA Eduardo Nunez, once thought to be their heir apparent to Jeter at SS. OK he's a totally rotten SS (Jeter's err-apparent is more like it) but he can hit a little w/some pop and wouldn't just be limited to SS. If nothing else having him as the backup/PH --or as an occasional starter with one of the glove-men coming in later on-- would give us two different skill-sets manning that position instead of essentially two guys essentially duplicating the same stuff. He's still just DFA'd so you may have to trade for him in case someone else out there is interested.

I think some just boo politicians because they think they should. Saying, in effect, 'I think this guy suxx' makes them feel better than saying 'I have no opinion'. It's like the people who never vote but then justify with the motto that 'Both sides suck' - as if they actually examine the evidence in each and every race and not only find the major candidates wanting but also decide that both a vote for the lesser of evils or one for a minority candidate aren't even the slightest bit better than none at all. Non-voters never bothered me (I sometimes think fewer people should) just the ones who didn't do so while acting as if they're somehow above such silliness.

I was wondering the same thing about the whole Jeter/Astros "history" and why that should possibly merit a send-off. Maybe for an encounter so brief the 'stros should just give him a gift basket.

Vic Sage wrote: I hope Terry isn't already locked into a "Valverde for the eighth, Parnell for the ninth" mindset. Un-necessary losses lie in that direction. i think he's been locked into that mindset since they sent Black down. Terry is nothing if not a follower of unwritten rules. Has he ever given us any indication that he would use his bullpen creatively, like instead of having pre-designated innings for certain relievers, just putting his best pitchers into the highest leverage situations? If so, i haven't seen it. I think Terry absolutely has the ability to change. If trends of game 1 continue he might do something really radical like switch Valverde to the 9th and assign Parnell to the 8th.

I didn't like the way Abreu played the OF a decade or more ago when he was in his prime. Might have to shield the children from watching now that he's in his 40s.

Ceetar wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: Backup shortstops are almost always going to be low-hitting, glove guys so it's not like getting rid of Q and replacing him with [player X from the pile of available non-starters] is going to change things much. The problem, IOW, isn't really with the specific backup it's that, unless the everyday guy suddenly bounces back to 2012 form, the starter isn't strong enough. As for using Q yesterday, I though Terry made all the reasonable moves, especially seeing how he was hamstrung with a temporarily short roster. Q to 2nd for defense plus Young to LF and Brown out of the game in order to protect a one-run lead in the 9th was the way to go, but stuff like that all falls apart when what your pitcher really needs is a LF who's 18 feet tall. I don't think Young is appreciably better on defense than Brown and you essentially replaced Brown's bat with 0's. I was confused by the double-switching though. Like bringing in Recker for the final couple of outs of the 10th, you ended up being what would've been the tying run (with Q behind him). These double-switches didn't lengthen the lineup (just pinch-hitting for pitcher would've done better) and it wasn't that short since Young apparently could pinch hit. Then again, it always seems like this happens in extra inning games, managers somehow get all the subs in there. And Williams didn't use his closer tie game on the road either. Young is hardly a GG out there but he's a damn sight better than Brown and Q is better at 2B than Young. With a one-run lead in the 9th those moves are no-brainers IMO. The double-switches were mainly for batting order reasons (Ike for Duda, etc.) I'd have to re-check the d'Arnaud/Recker one. And while I've been critical of Terry in the past for over-using that tactic, I was OK with how he handled things yesterday.

themetfairy wrote: And his form suxx Looks like he's gearing up to throw the old 'palm ball'. Or, seeing as how he's a politician, it's probably a greased palm ball.

Backup shortstops are almost always going to be low-hitting, glove guys so it's not like getting rid of Q and replacing him with [player X from the pile of available non-starters] is going to change things much. The problem, IOW, isn't really with the specific backup it's that, unless the everyday guy suddenly bounces back to 2012 form, the starter isn't strong enough. As for using Q yesterday, I though Terry made all the reasonable moves, especially seeing how he was hamstrung with a temporarily short roster. Q to 2nd for defense plus Young to LF and Brown out of the game in order to protect a one-run lead in the 9th was the way to go, but stuff like that all falls apart when what your pitcher really needs is a LF who's 18 feet tall.

* 14-10 Phillies was the final * 6 runs on 5 hits + [u:20vb45pi]6 walks[/u:20vb45pi] in 5 innings for Dickey in a loss to Tampa * Jose Fernandez for Miami, youngest OD starter since ** is shutting out the Rockies thru 5 ** Dwight Gooden

1 - I don�t do a lot of ump bitching but we were DEFINITELY not getting our fair share of ball/strike calls. A lot of the B/S calls were more like BS calls!!!! 2 - It was actually only five walks allowed (seemed like thirty) but every one of them came back to bite us!!!! * Gee gets Harper 0-2 leading off the 2nd. He appears to have a called strike 3 but didn�t get it and then issued three straight balls. Two batters later LaRoche HR�d for two runs instead of one. * 7th inning - Gee walks LaRoche w/2 outs. This one wasn�t terrible as it gave him Rendon instead, but then he couldn�t get Rendon and was out of the game. * then Torres comes on with 2 outs and needs to get one guy (McLouth) he walks him * on comes Rice needing to get Span and didn�t even throw one strike (OK maybe he did - but still) * Parnell with 2-outs in the 9th walks K-happy Espinosa on a full count. He then gave up the tying hit on the next pitch 3 - EY�s defense didn�t do his pitchers much good. Twice with shots at turning a DP he didn�t. First one was when Harper tried to eat his shin, the second again with Harper coming in, much softer this time, but EY was already bailing possibly with thoughts of the first one in mind. Neither turn was a gimme, but both were possible. Both non doubled-up runners later scored. Then his �no triples� defense when he was out in LF was partially responsible for Werth�s leadoff hit in the 10th No errors, but also no favors - and all this is giving him a pass on the Harper smash to begin with. Again it was a tough play and correctly scored a Hit, but again it was a possible play not made. 4 - Heard Francesa�s opening just before the game starts (for all these years he and NYM games have been mutually exclusive). Started immediately carping on the �rows and rows of empty seats� and how he �didn�t want to hear that this was a sell-out�. Looked pretty full to me, but I guess that�s what happens when you actually wait for the game to start before reaching a conclusion. 5 - The short bench could have burned us with the extra innings though it didn�t. Hope things are back to full by Wednesday 6 - Parnell?!?? I don�t want to be a slave to the radar gun and start equating slower automatically with worse, but he�s WAY down even from last year much less from his triple-digits of a few years back. This obviously bears watching. The ST numbers were good but of course that's SSS and maybe lots of non-ML hitters faced. 7 - The pen in general. Have to be careful not to overreact off one game: [Replace Parnell w/Valverde, etc.] It's not like all of them aren't going to have good days and bad. 8 - Tough to fault Familia on his inning. A bloop that stayed up forever but still fell, a broken bat seeing-eye single, etc. 9 - Good debut by Valverde, not so good for Granderson, horrid for Lannan 10 - Having to wait 50 hours until the next game suxxx!!!!

HahnSolo wrote: Not clear enough on the rules I guess, I thought managers couldn't challenge from the 7th inning on? From the 7th on umpires can trigger a challenge on their own if they feel the call was iffy. This is in addition to managers' challenges if they didn't use it up in the early innings.

* Now 13-10 Phils in the 7th in Texas * Pirates beat Cubs 1-0 in the 10th on a Neil Walker-off HR. Charlie Newtown (Carlos Villanueva) was the victim * Fredi Gonzalez wins the distinction of being the first manager to get a call reversed (got a leadoff Brewer infield hit in the 6th erased) but the Braves lost 2-0 anyway * Tigers get 2 in the 7th and a walk off run in the 9th to beat KC

And fittingly it ends on a K

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: In positive news, Wilson Ramos left with a broken hand. #angry That guy is never NOT injured.

Bottom line: They walked a lot, we struck out a lot.

Thing is, there's almost no point in Williams NOT challenging that play - either it keeps the inning going or he's no worse off than he was before and it was unlikely that he was going to need that challenge for later on. And situations like that are why replay is going to be used more often than some think.

And we're gonna have our first video review ...

EVERY SINGLE walk has burned us today.

971 = John Lannan

Tough to blame Jerry Family for that inning. - a catchable pop-up (EYJr's no-triples defense again) - a broken-bat seeing-eye hit - passed ball was on d'Arnaud

'twould be a good inning for Mr. Granderson to announce hisself in Queens

Astros are starting this season with the Yanx (in Houston tomorrow) and finishing with the Mets (in NY)

1st (I believe) replay review of the season goes against the Cubs as they argue that pitcher Samardjzia beat out a grounder at 1st

Mets with just one non-Sac/non-K out so far - Ike's hard shot to 2B that Rendon smothered. Other than that: 1 Sac Bunt, 1 Sac Fly, 6 Ks