Frayed Knot

Zvon wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: themetfairy wrote: The little clock timing how long Dice-K is taking between pitches is amusing. Now all we have to do is attach that timer to a device that zaps the pitcher with an electric shock whenever he goes over the proscribed limit. 10th shock within one game will be of lethal dosage. Nice lol for that but also a lil fear that the future of baseball might be more in line with that than what I would wish. But I guarantee you that every hurler would pick up the pace long before they ever got to that 10th zapping. Now I just have to devise a similar penalty for slow batters.

themetfairy wrote: The little clock timing how long Dice-K is taking between pitches is amusing. Now all we have to do is attach that timer to a device that zaps the pitcher with an electric shock whenever he goes over the proscribed limit. 10th shock within one game will be of lethal dosage.

Welcome to Matsuzaka-land (the slow pitching I'm talking about, not the hitting)

sharpie wrote: Hope Vic Black is better than Rick White was. I predict he'll be the exact opposite.

Internet rumor cites Vic Black as possible PtbNL - 6' 4" 25 y/o RHP was late 1st/supplemental pick (49th overall) in 2009 out of Texas Baptist University - Is on Pittsburgh 40-man (which could explain the PtbNL status) and briefly appeared (3 games) with the big club this year - He was a starter early on but moved exclusively to relieving pretty quickly and filled the role of closer at AA & AAA in 2012 & 2013 - 38 appearances, 30 games finished, 2.15 ERA, 1.05 WHiP, 17 saves, 46.2 IP, 28 hits, 63 K, 21 BB, 2 HR at Indianapolis this year. Walks are a bit high, but are a slight improvement over previous years and there's nothing not to like about any of the other numbers. I have no idea of the accuracy of the info which cites him as the back half of this deal.

Vic Sage wrote: The Yanks should then have to play their next few seasons at their A-ball park in Staten Island. Where the team is so bad that they fail to sell-out the park. Meanwhile two more HRs from Soriano last night (hitting them since the trade at more than double his early season rate), plus another one from ARod and one from Mark Reynolds, all recent pick-ups (in one form or another). Makes me wonder how all those YLDBs who complained about "too many HRs" last year and about how they wanted more small-ball and to replace all those HR-hitting guys they didn't like (Teixeira, Granderson, ARod) with more of "the kids". Yeah, how'd that work out for you in the first half? And does all this winning now offend you somehow on account of the un-aesthetic way it's being done? Indians lost (despite 3-hitting the Braves), Rays lost their game in the 9th, and Baltimore lost (to Boston so there's some consolation there). Only Oakland, among the WC contenders, won yesterday and they had to go through Detroit and Verlander to do so (and got some help from the rain).

The good part about Byrd/2013 being an even better copy of Scott Hairston/2012 needs to be balanced by the possibility that Byrd/2014 will be the next coming of Hairston/2013 Hairston 2012 = .263/.299/.504 Hairston 2013 = .181/.235/.413 Byrd 2013 (to date) = .285/.330/.518 Byrd 2014 = ??? Hairston signed a 2-year deal @ $2.5/per in Feb 2013 when he was not quite 33 y/o ... and has already been dealt away by the team that signed him. And while Byrd/2013 was better than Hairston/2012 [played everyday, better OBA, better fielder, less split-dependent] he also turns 36 on Saturday and has a drug suspension on his record. I won't dismiss the possibility of kicking at his tires in the off-season to see if the price is right, but we probably got out while the getting was good and I don't see where the status of Harvey has anything to do with that decision.

Niese - 6.0 Murphy - 1.0 Lagares - 0.8 Quintanilla - 0.8 Brown - 0.7 d'Arnaud - 0.7

Rice - 0.7 Torres - 0.7 Gee - 1.0 d'Arnaud - 1.5 Murphy - 0.5 Lagares - 1.0

Zvon wrote: Thats twice in two or three days. If Laggy cant catch up to warning track drives then he should rethink playing ridiculously in the way he does. Nah! As long as we're not in a situation that calls for preventing XBHs at all costs, I'll take him saving 7 or 8 singles for every double he might give up - and I bet the ratio is even better than that. Like you said, that's maybe the 2nd ball we've seen hit over his head that he couldn't get to since his call-up and, in both cases IIRC, he just missed them even though they landed on the track. I'm fine with that track record (no pun intended).

Somebody on this team can hit with RiSP!!

That throw is what (one of many actually) is so frustrating about Roger Bernadina. The guy has speed, power, is a great athlete and particularly so in the field but is also so unpolished and unreliable that you can't depend on him.

Niese screws up to the Mets benefit.

I like the way that Gary takes scoring decisions he disagrees about so personally.

So they got a player you never heard of prior to today plus one more we don't know the name of yet - and yet you've already decided that both add up to "zilch".

Potter: If I want music, I�ll send for my Tex Ritter 78s. If I want a giant, I�ll send for Mel Ott! Winchester: "While I'm not familiar with Mr. Ott's work, a cowboy crooner, even one as noteworthy as 'ol Tex' can not be mentioned in the same breath as the immortal Enrico Caruso!" Potter: "Oh yeah, you want to compare pipes, can that Caruso fellow YODEL?" Winchester: "Not even at gunpoint!"

HahnSolo wrote: Kind of apropos of nothing, but I think Hank Greenberg once hit 39 home runs in Tiger Stadium--in one season. Yup! 1938. 39 at home + 19 on road. Tiger Stadium (under various names) was berry berry good to Hank as he hit just shy of 62% of his HRs at home (205 of 331) Mel Ott is the main guy I think of when it comes to home-cooking domination. He hit more than 63% of his dingers at home (323 of 511)

Edgy MD wrote: December 9 --- the day somebody would have guessed Tatis. And in a similar quiz three years from now folks would be scratching their heads saying; "Jordany Valdespin?!?!"

Dilson Hererra, Columbian middle infielder. John Sickels' take (as of about a month ago) -- Hitting .266/.327/.414 in Low-A, good defender at second base and has some pop in his bat, solid overall at age 19. He gave him a grade of 'B-' prior to the season which, for Sickels, is an above-average prospect grade and you'd think that a "solid" year in full-season ball at age 19 (not 20 until next March) would do nothing to diminish that heading into next season. I'm going to assume if he's not a SS by now he's unlikely to become one in the future which is too bad, but there's nothing wrong with a good fielding, wiry 2Bman (BB-Ref lists at 5' 10" / 150) with a bit of pop (41 of his 112 hits this season for XBHs) if things all work out. For other Pitt Prospects with an eye towards the PTBNL (read somewhere that it's going to be a pitcher) see the rest of John's Pirate list here BA sez: Herrera hit .321 for short-season State College in 2012 and led the New York-Penn League with 22 extra-base hits, and despite a dip in his raw production this season at low Class A, he remains an intriguing prospect as an offensive-oriented second baseman. A compactly-built 5-foot-10, Herrera makes consistent line-drive contact and ought to develop at least average power to go with a solid average and on-base percentage. He lacks the type of flashy defensive tools to get a look at shortstop, though sticking at the keystone will be no problem thanks to solid range and quick hands. As such, South Atlantic League managers recently selected Herrera as the best defensive second baseman in the circuit.

Nah, funk that! Don't want to give them even the possibility of slipping past a team in a short series (they did just take two of three from Detroit last week) and don't want to give their fans the opportunity to crow about having made the playoffs despite a negative run differential plus 87 separate injuries to the starting line-up, many of which hovered on the verge of life and death for weeks on end. In fact, I'm hoping for a nine-game losing streak starting tonight that will essentially settle the whole deal.

I'm not worried so much about the division. Conceivably they could catch either Boston or Tampa but they're not catching both. But I want them shut out of the WC too and I'm not sure I trust Baltimore, Cleveland or Oakland (KC has already fallen out) to not waddle along at .500 or below like each has been doing all of August. Yanx are currently just 2.0, 2.5, and 4.5 games behind those teams respectively and much of that can be made up in a good weekend. The good news, like you said, is that one decent hot streak by somebody might do the trick since the Skanks will either have to catch and pass all three from that group, or two of them plus the Sox/Rays loser. The easiest way to root for this is to become a real big Orioles fan in September because they alone could ice this with those seven head-to-heads.

Wheeler - 3.4 Feliciano - 0.1 Torres - 0.2 Germen - 0.3 Byrd - 1.0 Brown - 1.0

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Laugh it up, fuzzball-- Bartolo Colon is 14-5, 2.97, and an All-Star this year. I can't find Koos' stats. Has he been out of circulation or something? Bartolo Colon ate him.

RA was nice enough to beat the Yanx tonight in Toronto for the Jays second win against the MFYs all season. The remaining Yanx schedule has me a bit worried. Still five [crossout:1xai2wju]games[/crossout:1xai2wju] walkovers remaining with the Jays after tonight. Also three vs the awful White Sox, three against the sinking Giants, and they finish with a set vs the worst team over the last three seasons now, Houston. That's 14 games vs dead last place clubs. Mix in 7 more against the barely treading water Orioles (.500 since July 1) and that's not too tough a road. The only tough part comes via 10 games total vs the BoSox (7) and Rays (3)

Our offense is looking like binary code these days: a whole lot of zeros and ones.