Frayed Knot

Add Roy Oswalt and Brad Lidge to the list. The Phils today declined options on both of them saving themselves some $16 & $12.5 mils along the way. They did not shut down the possibility of re-signing either one of them to new deals at a later date but of course would have to then deal with the open market unless some such agreement were to pop up in the next week or so.

MFS62 wrote: I had to look up Kelli Garner. I don't think I've ever seen one minute of anything in which she has appeared. But she's a Mets fan, so I don't care. I love her. Later I was confused too, mainly because in that picture she's a blond yet she plays the red-headed sister - opposite her blond-haired siblinig - in the new series 'Pan Am'. Other than that I had never heard of her either.

This all reminds me of the time in the '05 WS when Ozzie was signaling for a RH reliever when two were warming up. When the guys in the pen looked confused as to which one he wanted Ozzie started pantomiming a really tall and wide guy with his hands at which point everyone instantly knew that he wanted Bobby Jenks. Maybe Tony needs to take some mime lessons for getting his wishes through when the crowd is too loud.

Verducci pretty much slaughters TLR and his [crossout]excuses[/crossout] explanations in his SI.com piece this morning. * After noting that Washington wasn't afraid to roll the dice by leaving Murphy in there against the LHP Lynn -- "my how that must chap the manage-by-data crowd, the ones who cannot make a decision without a binder" - he picks apart the supposed causes for the various and supposedly phone-related mix-ups. * on TLR shrugging off the phone problems as something that's "not unusual" -- "Not unusual? This is a guy who fights for every inch of an advantage, who once complained this year about the ribbon boards in Miller Park giving the Brewers an edge because the bulbs were brighter when they were batting." * on intentionally walking Cruz -- It made no sense. Dotel's job is to get these right-handed hitters out. And by walking Cruz -- and barring a double play, an event that cannot be counted on -- La Russa was making sure that Napoli, the hottest hitter, would get to the plate. * La Russa countered by saying he thought he had closer Jason Motte ready for Napoli, specifically "Well, I was more thinking that we had a real good chance with Rzepcynski with a pinch-hitter [for Murphy] or not, and if we got an out or not we were going to pitch around Napoli and then go after the left-hander." -- Stop right there. That ["whether we got an out or not."] is gibberish. If Rzepczynski did not get the next hitter [Murphy or a PH] the Rangers would have the bases loaded and there would be no possible way to pitch around Napoli. And that's exactly what happened. * Verducci goes on to also take apart the strategy of twice having Craig running with Albert at the plate, noting that Pujols had a lot more HRs (37) than he did singles to the opposite field (11) -- Really, my head hurts trying to figure out what La Russa did to this game but mostly how he tried to explain it away. It was like being stuck in a gigantic corn maze. Blindfolded. At midnight. After getting spun around 38 times. Every explanation led to another turn that led to another dead end or false exit. The bottom line is he lost the game having a matchup he didn't want -- a left-hander pitching to red-hot Napoli -- and he lost his last opportunity by getting a runner thrown out who, while down two runs, didn't mean anything. I've never seen a game even close to this one and I hope never again to have to try to explain one like it.

Be nice if Feliz stopped gifting the Cards a free pass to bring the tying run to the plate. Nolan can't be too feliz with Feliz right now.

Well there's your DP right there!!

Proper nouns are NOT allowed in SCRABBLE In this case DICK is good, SELMA is not.

Gwreck wrote: Gwreck: Didn't Bobby use Dennis Cook for that exact purpose in the Ventura game? I don't remember it, but I suppose it's possible. It's also a different story if, after the IW, the other team PH's and changes the matchup. In this case though TLR brought Lynn in strictly for IW purposes which seems to make no sense.

MFS62 wrote: I think that seals MVP if the Rangers win. After a pretty pedestrian career except for his power, he's had a year that kinda' snuck up on everybody who isn't a roto player. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/n/napolmi01.shtml Later Yeah, I posted the numbers for Napoli last night 2010 - .238/.316/.468 2011 - .320/.414/.631 Even last year those are pretty good walk & power rates especially for a catcher, but then this year the BA shot up and he simply exploded right after being traded twice inside a week (Angels to Blue Jays, then Jays to Texas) Rumor had it that Scoscia wasn't too happy with his catching skills but at least on the surface he looks OK to me plus he can play you some 1B The big question, I suppose, is why the team leader in both OBA & SLG is hitting eighth?!?

I was just about to put up a sarcastic post asking if LaRussa was going to change pitchers right after Lynn came in just for the IW But real life turns out to be as strange as fiction.

Lotsa LOBsters tonight for the Cards. A couple more and they'll be forced to relocate the team to Maine.

WOW, a CS with Pujols up?!?!?

Gotta admit, that Beltre HR while kneeling thing is a new one on me. I've never seen anyone do that before.

I could do without just about all those in-inning interviews - manager or player. Not sure why the networks are under the impression that viewers are clamoring for them.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Bing Devine and Joe McDonald both got GM jobs with the Cardinals following their Met gigs. Yeah, I meant to put the same "in recent years" disclaimer like on the managers. Obviously Torre and also Bamberger managed after their NYM stints. Duquette, Valentine, and Phillips each became a broadcaster --- a more stable job, in theory. Sure, just probably not their first choice. Plus the fact still remains that discarded NYM generals aren't exactly in high demand after leaving, a condition which in turn implies that maybe the team isn't making such great choices in the first place.

sharpie wrote: Read too quickly to see you needed both. Dennis Cook does not make this team. Get out of the picture, Cook. As Dennis leaves he graciously cedes his spot in the photo shoot to Cliff Cook

I could swear we've had this thread before.

Edgy DC wrote: Omar interviewing for the Angels' GM job. I'm not betting on it, but good luck to him. Omar NOT getting that job will keep going the near-perfect streak of ex-NYM mgrs & GMs who failed to ever repeat at that same position in MLB. Aside from Jeff Torborg (and even him only briefly) you have to go back to Davey to find a Met skipper who snagged a post-NYM MLB manager's slot (and he's on, what, his fourth now?) - not Bud, not Willie, not Jerry, not Dallas, not Art and, stunningly, no Bobby either. Nor do any of them - will the possible exception of Bobby but even there I'm starting to wonder - look like it'll happen in the future. Nor has any NYM GM ever been re-employed in that same position - a list which includes the likes of Al Harazin, Joe McIlvane, Jim Duquette and Steve Phillips. Meanwhile on the Theo front, the new Cubs' 'Head of Baseball Operations' (or whatever his title will be) has put himself in the unique position of having to trade for himself. The two clubs, to this point anyway, can't agree on the proper compensation for the move that's already been made prompting commissioner Selig to say that if nothing is agreed upon by November 1st then HE will make that call. -- "They have until Nov. 1 -- Theo and Ben [Cherington] and all the parties involved," Selig told a small group of Boston-based reporters Sunday night in Arlington, Texas, where Game 4 of the World Series was played. "Hopefully, they can get things done. I always encourage clubs to try to get things done between themselves ... "They'll either get it done or they won't. If they don't, then I will." The Red Sox and Cubs had originally planned on waiting until compensation was finalized before announcing that Epstein was switching jobs. But with the talks already having dragged on for more than a week, the two teams issued a joint statement late Friday night saying that Epstein had resigned from his post in Boston to take his new position with Chicago. Cherington is expected to be named the next general manager of the Red Sox at a Fenway Park news conference on Tuesday. The Cubs have scheduled an 11 a.m. CT news conference at Wrigley Field to introduce Epstein.

metirish wrote: Haven't really watched much of this, maybe a few innings. It's been a good series so far. Games 1 & 2 featured good pitching and some great middle-IF defense with #2 tossing a 9th inning comeback into the mix. The 4-0 game last night was a tight 1-0 match through much of it and the game-breaking swing was a stunning bolt on the reliever's first pitch. And even the one high-scoring/blow-out had some hard-hitting back-and-forth in the middle innings before things got out of hand and threw in the Pujolsalooza show free of charge. We've now got the first 2-2 series in eight years so it's a 2-of-3 for the title. * Plus, with the exception of the football score in Game 3 and despite Tony L's OCD/ADHD-driven compulsion to use each of the 17 relievers he has stashed out there in his pen, each game has managed to hang reasonably close to the 3 hour mark.

Not a flattering picture for sure. Sisk did show up during one of the telecasts this season with 'Guys' and, while he certainly looked aging and heavy, he did present a bit better than what that photo shows.

Holland - 5.5 Napoli - 4.5

"Sure, that [crossout]ARod[/crossout] Pujols guy will hit you 3 HRs is a blow-out game but when you really need one ..."

Furcal gets on and here comes Feliz. Albert can't be the tying run this inning ... although he could certainly do some damage and make either Berkman or Holliday in that spot.

Holland stays in the game !!!! Like to see it. If he/Texas hold on here we'll get our first 2-All tie in a series since 2003 - the Alex Gonzalez HR in the 12th inning off Jeff Weaver gave the Marlins win #2 that year.

Your 'Ojeda on a bad day' is, of course, Sid