Frayed Knot

I saw that Verlander 9th ... and it was awesome. Leyland even came out in the midst of that 9th inning mini-crisis but opted to leave Verlander in - maybe he was talked out of a change or maybe he never intended to in the first place. The very first pitch after the mound meet was the HBP that loaded the bases and still Leyland stuck with him, and this is on a team with a closer who was "perfect" in 49 save opps last year (although one who is having a rougher go so far this season -- 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 8 base-runners)

One thing I didn't know about that Pads Sac/Triple Play (heard about it but didn't see a replay until after I started this thread) was that the HP ump clearly signaled foul ball before calling it fair. The fair call was the right one but the belated correction came after he messed up all the runners with the initial signal.

Edgy DC wrote: It's pretty frustrating that nobody authoritatively publishes data on failed sacrifice attempts. You've got to assume it's been reliably compiled for years. There would be all kinds of 'what ifs' to go along with that. - Sac Bunts that are tried once then taken off where the result could be everything from a GiDP to a HR as opposed to those where the mgr keeps putting the sign on the entire way through - Then there'd be sac bunts that were laid down but not recorded as a Sac because they resulted in a force play, or a DP, or a K; but also others that would get scored as a hit because no out was recorded; and still others where an error was made which would be scored as Sacs even though everyone was safe. It still could be done by someone following along closely, it's just that the data wouldn't be very clean.

metirish wrote: Doc could swing the bat eh? Plus he claimed he was really a LH batter although Davey would never let him hit that way on account of exposing his right arm towards the pitcher. So he hit exclusively RH-ed to the detriment (he claims) of even more HRs.

... are for losers!! Just kidding, that's not what this post is about ... although did you see where the Pads sac-bunted into a triple play in the ninth inning of a tie game the other day? Anyway, BB-Ref has added the stats for all base/out situations to their data-base. So in scanning through the 2011 MLB-wide stats I thought I'd pick some out trying to discover just how often managers sac bunt - always a favorite topic around here. Most common situation? - Runners on [u:3b55p2cm]1st & 2nd with no outs[/u:3b55p2cm]. In 2,373 PAs in that situation last year there were 243 credited [u:3b55p2cm]Sacrifice Hits[/u:3b55p2cm], or about 10.2% of the time. Now that, of course, only counts [u:3b55p2cm]the successful[/u:3b55p2cm] SH's which, as far as I can tell, must be all bunts. Sac Flies are tracked separately (and wouldn't apply to this particular situation anyway) and I can't think of what else would be tagged as an SH. You don't get one simply for moving runners over by swinging. Others: - Runner on 2nd, none out = 7.9% - Runner on 1st, none out = 7.5% - 1st & 3rd, none out = 3.2% (God I hope that's mostly w/pitchers hitting!) And then at ~2% are: - Runner on 1st, one out (1.9%); - 1st & 2nd, one out (1.9%); - 1st & 3rd, 1 out (2.3%) Runner on 3rd w/1 out comes in at a shade less than 1% (0.8%) which can only mean squeeze plays (again, Sac Flies are separate) and all other situations are either zero (no one on base, or there are 2-outs ... Duh!) or so small as to be insignificant.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: There doesn't seem to be a way for the public to do that particular search. I was able to generate those results by accessing the database directly. Elitist!! Odd that the last nine HRs by NYM pitchers have all come at home.

Yeah, ESPN managed to show/mention those two once or twice on the Sunday night game. Oh wait, upon further review, it was actually 134 times.

I expected to like this one more than I did. Not quite sure why it fell (somewhat) flat for me.

MFS'62 wrote: If anyone will take the Cards, I'll take SF, to keep my 50 year anniversary NL pennant winner KTE streak going. MFS, the Giants are yours if you want them. PHIGroupWASHbmfc1/Edgy DCFLAGWreck=#FF0000]ATL=#FF0000]Frayed KnotCINEdgyDCPITTEdgy DCCHIC---StLMFS'62HOUMGiMMILWTransMonkLADG-FaFiF=#0000FF]SFG---SDPSeoCOLLWFSARZLWFSNYYFMan99BALJCLTORJCLTBRLWFS =#BF0000]At Bat =#0000FF]On Deck =#008000]In the Hole

When: April 16-18 Where: Hot 'Lanta We last saw the Braves a long time ago. It was back in the days when Geroge Zimmerman was still a free man, and even back when Rick Santorum was considered a legit candidate for the Republican nomination (you young ones might want to ask your parents about this for confirmation). So what have they been up to since we swept their asses out of CitiField way back when? - Well, winning five of six as it turns out. They lost one to Houston to fall to 0-4 and then took the next two plus three straight from Milwaukee to sit a game behind us at 5-4. So what�s different since last week? - One word: Chipper. Yes, Larry Wayne Jones sat out the series in New York due to ... oh I don�t know, gall stones, denture problems, something like that. He then came back for the Houston series (going 4 for 9 w/a HR & 2 RBIs) only to sit right back down again for three games. He did play Sunday -- making his final home debut -- against the Brews and promptly HR�d again to move into a tie for the club lead in HRs with 2 despite only playing three games. Monday - 7:10 PM (no more 7:35 starts in Atlanta I see) Gee vs Tommy Hanson We dinged Hanson for only 1 run in 5 innings in the season opener - but that�s all you need when you hold their offense scoreless. Tuesday - 7:10 PM Santana vs Randall Delgado The Mets have never faced Delgado before. The 22 y/o Panamanian (Ruben�s home boy) who was on everyone's pre-season best prospect lists had 7 starts last season and one this year for a record of 2-1. The Braves have been bringing him along carefully as he�s pitched just 4, 6, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 & 5 innings in those starts. Wednesday - 12:10 PM (a �NOONER�!) Dickey vs Jair Jurrgens We beat JJ up a bit in game 2 of the season, mainly via Wright�s HR and Duda�s 1st HR. He didn�t get out of the 5th. In fact no Braves pitcher this season pitched past the 5th until Brandon Beachy threw 7 on Sunday. Off to a good start: Heyward & Chipper (when he plays at least) Not: Everyone else. I mean we�re talkin� four seperate interstate-hitting regulars to date in Freeman, Pastonicky, Francisco (sitting if Chipper plays) & Bourn, plus semi-regular Diaz

Gwreck wrote: The White Sox? The Bossard family of groundskeepers? I highly doubt this was accidental. I'm unfamiliar with the Bossards but I'm guessing there's a back-story in there somewhere? Javy Lopez used to setup entirely outside the box even when it was there. Well that was pretty much the point in making it larger. Since it's not legal to set up outside the box - even on intentional walks - if and when umps took to enforcing the rule the Braves simply made the box bigger. In the case of the ChiSox/Detroit game a less deep batter's box wouldn't normally seem to be an advantage for either side but maybe the Sox knew something about one or more of the Tiger hitters.

Nats win in 13th on (say it with me folks) an infield single, two walks, and a single through the drawn-in infield.

Dickey - 3.5 Parnell - 0.5 Francisco - 0.5 Bay - 2.0 Hairston - 1.4 Duda - 0.4 Tejada - 1.0 Murphy - 0.7

'Nother great pitching outing for the Nats - Jordan Zimmermann this time. Currently tied 1-1 with the Reds in the 13th on ... Friday the 13th. Braves in a wild one with the Brewers. 10-8 Braves in the 8th.

Fman99 wrote: Nice knowledge, gang. You forgot the real enemy here. Forty five thousand screaming Pennsylvania residents with a sixth grade education and a penchant for vomiting on and verbally abusing visiting fans, and otherwise spreading disgust like a biblical plague of locusts. There's no way all 45,000 of them got through sixth grade.

Edgy DC wrote: Daniel Murphy doing a perfectly cromulent Wright imitation with the ninth-inning yips. I don't recall Wright doing anything THAT bad. And what's that for Murph now; at least two real clunkers on easy grounders plus three, maybe four, missed DPs? Fast game also. Was REAL fast until both the top & bottom of the 9th slowed things up. Much more enjoyable than the Nats series where each game was 3-1/2 hours.

MURPH TURNED A DP!!!

Hunter Pence still moves like a new-born colt. His limbs never look quite under control. Papelbon has made three appearances so far: - A perfect 3 out/10 pitch save in a game where the Phils were just up by 1 - A one-run (HR) 9th in a just-to-get-work game where the Phils were already down by 3 before he came in - A somewhat shaky save vs Miami just yesterday with the Phils up by 2 [single, pop-out, single, GiDP] And he's by far the most annoying reliever to watch. He has that whole breath/think/stare/stretch and finally ... pitch routine where 30 seconds per pitch is his norm and it can get worse than that.

The Braves got caught some years back for (intentionally as it turns out) drawing the catcher's box too wide. Much better to set up and get calls on those 6-8 inches outside Glavoxx cutter/change-ups. This one sounds like it might just be a screw-up but who knows.

Dutch -- a name frequently slathered on anyone of German and/or Dutch descent -- is also most often found in the early part of the 20th century. Of players listed with that as their main baseball name, the most recent are All-Star hurler Dutch Leonard who played through 1953 and the brief career of Dutch Romberger who pitched 15 IPs in 1954 Darren 'Dutch' Dalton played into the 1990s but that was only an occasional nickname as were many of those who appear at BB-Ref when you type in 'Dutch' On the minor league side there are 40 entries as 'Dutch'. Of those two appeared in the 1970s but I suspect every one of the rest is dead at the present time.

It's spelled exactly as it sounds.

I bet a lot of baseball fans are surprised to find, me, Juan Pierre, roaming left-field for the Phightins instead of one of those young guys they've got like John Mayberry Jr or Domonic Brown. Well, actually, me and Mayberry have split the six starts out there so far while the highly touted Brown is a Lehigh Valley Iron Pig (and I mean that literally) where he's barely hitting my weight. In case you've lost track of me recently, I've spent the last two seasons on the south side of Chicago doing my usual OK hitting (.277/.335) with little power while getting thrown out stealing far too often (27 steals in 44 attempts last year) and playing only so-so defense for someone with my supposed speed. And now that I'm due to turn 35 this summer my legs might be going the way of my already noodle arm. Not that Mayberry's doing much better, but I don't like to say anything bad about him seeing as he's like a foot taller and 75 heavier than me. Let's just say I root for him to play 1B instead. While next to me/us in CF is ...

Ahh, those were the days.

Particularly if your name was Irsay. For others it certainly was for a while as it degraded into an aging, rust-belt, crime-ridden place. Started to make a come-back as they improved the downtown waterfront area of which Camden Yards (open now 20 years) was one of the pieces.

Not surprising that the number of Rubes was highest during the massive immigration period of the 1890s thru 1920s