Frayed Knot

Obviously it's going to depend on how Johan looks when he eventually gets around to throwing in front of whoever is interested in watching him. So with that caveat in mind, I could see Santana getting a deal with a lower guarantee but higher ceiling as compared to what the already-proven healthy Matsuzaka will command.

GK&R wonder if Young should be stealing here (turns out he did) -- but he's been stat-padding that SB total for a while now.

Zvon wrote: Gees throwin meat balls. More like getting dinked to death after he puts himself in a hole by way of walks. Only the double was solidly hit and that wasn't part of the run scoring.

Yes, I�d like to thank Steve Albert for filling in on our 1973 review. Now unfortunately, on this date in NYM history (Sept 26 - Game 158 - final home game) their 7-game winning streak came to a crashing halt with an 8-5 loss to the Expos. The Expos jumped on Tom Seaver for 4 runs in the 1st inning, an inning which included only 2 hits, but 4 walks (1 intentional) a passed ball, a double, and a big 2-out/2-run single from former/future Met Tim Foli. A fifth run was added in the 2nd and final inning Seaver would pitch that night. The Mets climbed back into the game in the bottom of the 2nd on a 2-out single from Lute Barnes followed by a 3R HR from ... Yup, Wayne Garrett! The Mets even tied the game on Grote�s single in the 5th and took Seaver off the hook. But Bob Bailey�s 2R HR off Harry Parker in the 7th, and Felipe Alou�s RBI single off McGraw in the 9th capped the scoring. Another future Met, Mike Marshall, pitched the final four innings for his 13th win of the season. In all, Marshall would end the season with a 14-11 record -- all in relief -- on 92 appearances, 73 games finished, 31 saves, and 179 INNINGS PITCHED. He finished 2nd that year in the CY (and 5th in MVP) on his way to winning the CY the following season with 106 games, 83 finished, and 208 innings NYM --- PIT -0.5 STL -3.0 CHC -3.5 MON -3.5 Four games remain, all with the Cubs.

WOW, watching the highlights of this game, Wells is awful out there in RF......messed up three catchable balls , and obviously looked useless in doing so. And Wells is one of the guys that's signed through next season as well. As is Ichiro ... as is Soriano ... and ARod ... and Jeter ... and Sabathia ... and Teixeira. So much for that whole younger and cheaper thing. On the Hard Rock/Rivera thing: This PR stunt is really too trivial to even get concerned with ... but C'mon already! Statements like "a small gesture to honor one of the greatest athletes of our generation" are just too over the top to even debate. HE WAS A FUCKING CLOSER!! A very good one, the best of all time even (given the rather small community and recent history of that ultra specialized 'position') but let's not start lumping him in with Mays, Thorpe, and Jim Brown quite yet. What sets him apart from the rest of his peers is the consistency and longevity at a position where you rarely get either. But when he missed virtually the entire season a year ago the team didn't miss a beat and it's not going to be his absence that's going to make or break the future fortunes of the Yanx.

Matsuzaka - 5.2 Feliciano - 0.5 Hawkins - 1.0 Centeno - 0.4 Young - 1.4 Turner - 0.5 Murphy - 0.5 Tovar - 0.5

Given the choice between home field or the better pitcher I'll take the pitcher every time. Not that it should be looked at as an either/or situation. Yesterday's hurlers, Latos & Liriano, would be on their regular day for starting the likely play-in game on Monday (or is it Tuesday?). Neither team has that one killer starter that you'd go all out to slot in instead of either of those two, nor do I think either manager should go all and burn ever weapon in their arsenals on Sunday just to have that one game on home turf. I suspect, because of the long drought and the 50/50 shot of ending the season without ever selling a playoff ticket, that the home game is more important to Pirate mgmt and the city of Pittsburgh than it is to the Reds/Cincinnati, but there still isn't a lot you can do between Friday & Sunday that's going to make winning on Monday any more likely. The overall advantage, of course, goes to whichever team the survivor will meet in round one which is the way the system was designed.

So Pitt is now down 3 games to the Cards with 3 to go. That means they'd have to run the table vs Cincy while the Cards get swept by the Cubs. Hmmmm not likely. So the Pitt/Cincy season-ending series turns out to be nothing more than a warm-up and a determinate of home-field for the one-game play-in. The math is pretty simple as the winner of the series wins the home game. A Pitt win -- of either 2-1 or 3-0 -- means they finish higher and host the game. A Cincy 3-0 sweep means they finish higher, while Cincy taking 2-of-3 puts them in a flat-footed tie but would also give Cincy the game as the Reds would then hold a 10-9 edge in the head-to-head season series. Watching a few of the games this week, the Pirate & Reds announcers seemed overly concerned with each other and not so much with St Louis even though that was the bigger prize. Now obviously it's better to host the game than not (especially if you're the Pirates and haven't had a playoff game in your town since, like, the FDR administration) but a 1-game series is the ultimate crap-shoot and the REAL home-field edge is how good your starting pitcher is that day. And it's looking increasingly like the winner of the play-in game is just going to turn around and play the Cards anyway while the Braves & Dodgers fight it out.

Not a good showing for what was probably Phil Hughes's last day in pinstripes -- 7 hits plus a walk in 2 inning. The only question now is whether their own loss eliminates them or Cleveland's win. Both games are in the 7th and both games are taking forever; the Yanx game because they're the Yanx and the Indians game because Terry Francona changes pitchers more than any manager I've ever seen save for maybe LaRussa. Up by three in the 7th with no one on, he's just used three different pitchers to get three different outs.

StL completes the sweep of Washington (Nats fans must be seeing those 'Birds on the Bat' in their nightmares). This, along with our defeat of the Reds, eliminates Cincy from the Central division race. For them the only drama remains whether they or the Pirates get to host the one-game WC play-in game. Actually the Pirates can still win the division - although the just-concluded StL sweep plus the 3R HR they just served up to the Cubs is making that more and more unlikely. 4-1 Cubs in the 6th at Wrigley.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Boy, I'm awfully unimpressed with this Reds club suddenly. What a choke! 5 runs in 3 games/28 innings off a staff that included ONE guy who was on the NYM opening day roster and with a lineup that includes the likes of Votto (who doesn't look the same this year), Bruce, and Phillips. I know any team can look bad in a series but ...

Well, we didn't exactly smack Latos around, but we got him out of the game and at best he can't get a win and is currently on the hook for a loss. And how about Matsuzaka being allowed to hit for himself in the 7th and then pitch the bottom half? Not many people would have played that parlay given his first couple of outings.

Torres - 2.6 Atchison - 0.5 Hawkins - 0.5 Tovar - 1.7 Young - 1.0 Lagares - 2.0 Recker - 0.7 Flores - 1.0

Gee - 2.0 Wright - 2.8 Murphy - 2.0 d'Arnaud - 1.6 Lagares - 1.6

Matsuzaka - 2.5 Atchison - 0.3 Black - 0.1 Feliciano - 0.1 Hawkins - 0.5 Muaphy - 2.0 Wright - 2.0 Young - 2.0 Brown - 0.5

"HI, my name is Juan Centeno and I'll be your trivia question answer today"

I can't put my finger on exactly why, but I've really come to dislike Mat Latos so I hope this mighty lineup we're putting out there smacks him around. Maybe it's because he seems to have more idiot-looking tattoos on his arms each time I see him. btw, Nice bunt, dork-face.

...

Well, it's the fault of those regular guys for being on the wrong side of 'the moat'.

The other thing about the bobble-head fuck-up is that apparently the folks in the prime seats had their bobbles delivered to their seats while the unwashed masses had to queue up elsewhere after the game or got to eat cake or something. Speaking of Yanqui Stadium II, I noticed that BB-Ref is referring to the current crib as [u:21xbk8ab]YSIII[/u:21xbk8ab] even though most of the world treats it as if it's only the 2nd in the line of Bronx baseball parks. I thought only we here referred to it as III but maybe BB-R stole it just like Gary steals half our lines and stats for the telecast.

The Royals finish with 4 against the ChiSox so it's always possible -- although their chances would have been better had they not gotten shutout/five-hit by three Mariners rookies last night.

The game of the night among contenders was in Cleveland. - Up 3-2 on the woeful White Sox, closer Chris Perez came in for the save. But the leadoff HR he gave up blew the save, then a second one after two were out put them in danger of losing both the game and their lead over Texas (who, not surprisingly beat the Astros). Francona pulled Perez after another hit and needed two more relievers just to get out of the inning down by only one run. But then with two outs and a runner on against ChiSox closer Addison Reed, 72 y/o Jason Giambi PH's a game-winning 2R HR. Other than that, Baltimore lost and was eliminated - although what looked like maybe a chunk-of-next-season-lost injury to young star Manny Machado turns out to be only "minor" ligament damage with a winter recovery period. KC lost to Seattle and is virtually out of it. And the Yanx got steamrolled and are out except for the miracle scenario where they can tie for the 2nd WC spot if they win out and every other contender suddenly decides to go on a drinking binge and forfeit their remaining games. TBR +1.0 CLE --- TEX -1.0 KCR -4.0 MFY -5.0 * Texas's biggest problem is not just the one game back but the fact that today is their last one against Houston (Astros have lost 11 straight on their September tour through AL & NL contenders). They then finish with four against the improving Angels who at least have a pride-salvaging .500 record to shoot for. * Indians have one more with Chicago then 4 with the Twins * Rays have the Yanx twice more (almost as good as the Astros but not quite) then 3 with Toronto.

Niese - 3.2 Murphy- 3.0 Black - 0.6 Tovar - 1.0 Young - 0.7 Atchison - 0.5 Baxter - 0.8 Lagares - 0.2

Sneak in during the 7th inning stretch when all the security guys are busy trying to prevent people from going to the bathroom.

Zvon wrote: I disagree. If Adams stayed on the bag I dont think that ump will call a tie an out there. And I do think he could have reached the throw w/o coming off the bag. Wow. Good job by the kid pitcher. The throw certainly had the runner beat, I just don't think he could have stayed on the base and stretched far enough.