Frayed Knot

TransMonk wrote: Milwuakee's John Axford blows a 3 run lead in the bottom of the ninth and Cincy wins on a walk-off three-run homer by Ramon Hernandez. Exciting stuff! WOW!! Axford was one of those on-the-cheap closers who had a good year (or at least a partial) last season. Not that this game changes all that but it remains to be seen whether he can repeat or be seen as a flash in the pan. And somewhere 'Original JB' is muttering "Axford" to himself.

Jason Heyward 1st AB in 2010 = HR Jason Heyward 1st AB in 2011 = HR 2-0 Braves Werth singled in his 1st Nats AB but was later stranded. And over in the Yanqui game we've already had our first "just beyond the reach of a diving Jeter" call of the year.

Falling off the table like he did at age 32 makes more sense than doing so at 28 as it seemed.

Conte did a bare minimum as if they were narc cops who for some reason were cutting deals with big cocaine dealers in order to lock up as many street-level users as possible rather than the other way around. I have no sympathy for Bonds, Jones and the rest, it just always seemed to me the the priorities were skewed in this whole mess.

Yup!

The St. Louis Browns hosted the Yanx 11 times during the 1950 series. Don't think Joe D would have somehow missed all of them.

They do and should take perjury seriously but it seemed like their tactic from the very beginning was to say the hell with the ringleaders and see if/how many athletes the could get to either fess-up and embarrass themselves or commit lie to avoid it; like the aim was to goad them into perjury because in the end it would make for the better publicity and perp-walks.

Stolen from George Will's column this morning, this is one of those questions I like more for the fact that it actually has an answer than for how many folks might actually know it. -- Name the player and the year who led his league in HRs & RBIs plus started every game of the World Series while never crossing the Mississippi River? And, no, there are no tricks in the wording or anything. It's a 20th century player on an ML team over a full season. The key to figuring this out is to dope out how it could be done and the secret to how is to figure out when, as in what specific year. And once you have the year it's easy to find out the player.

The reason I'm tending to the side of 'why bother' on this case is that all along it seemed like the Gummint (Novitsky et al) were more interested in landing the biggest names for the biggest pub (ie. athletes) than they were in dealing with the guys who were actually concocting the stuff in the first place. It's like they got so torqued off at Barry's arrogance and refusal to admit his share in "staining the game" that it far surpassed their interest in Victor Conte for creating the drugs and a whole distribution network. Once Conte was essentially sent away with a slap on the wrist I started to lose interest.

So depending on the exact lineup and the batting order, Emaus, or maybe Hairston or Harris, becomes the first "next" Met out of this season's newbies - which is a way of saying that we've got to re-start that thread. Then, with Paulino on the shelf and Young & Capuano not scheduled for a few days, a variety of PHers and relievers to follow depending on the order in which they're used.

DateTeamKTE AuthorApr 1-3at FloridaSeawolfApr 5-7at PhiladelphiaMetIrishApr 8-10WashingtonEdgy DCApr 11-14ColoradoGwreckApr 15-17at AtlantaLWFSApr 19-21HoustonFman99Apr 22-24ArizonaG-FaFiFApr 26-28at Washingtonbmfc1Apr 29-May 1at PhiladelphiaFrayed KnotMay 3-5San FranciscoSecond SpitterMay 6-8LA DodgersJC LunchbucketMay 9-11at ColoradoFrayed KnotMay 13-15at HoustonMay 16-17FloridaSeawolfMay 18-19WashingtonMay 20-22at YankeesMGiMMay 24-26at ChicagoLWFSMay 27-29PhiladelphiaFman99May 30-Jun 2PittsburghJC LunchbucketJun 3-5AtlantaLWFSJun 7-9at MilwaukeeTransMonkJun 10-13at PittsburghMetIrishJun 14-16at AtlantaFrayed KnotJun 17-19LA AngelsG-FaFiFJun 21-23OaklandSecond SpitterJun 24-26at TexasEdgy DCJun 28-30at DetroitGwreckJul 1-3YankeesSecond SpitterJul 4-7at LA DodgersJul 8-10at San FranciscosharipeJul 11-14All Star BreakJul 15-17PhiladelphiaJul 19-21St. LouisJul 22-24at FloridaSeawolfJul 25-28at CincinnatiMFS62Jul 29-31at WashingtonFman99Aug 1-3FloridaSeawolfAug 5-7AtlantaFman99Aug 8-11San DiegoEdgy DCAug 12-14at ArizonaAug 15-17at San DiegoEdgy DCAug 19-21MilwaukeeTransMonkAug 22-24at PhiladelphiaLWFSAug 26-28AtlantaAug 29-Sep 1FloridaSeawolfSep 2-4at Washingtonbmfc1Sep 5-7at FloridaSeawolfSep 9-11ChicagoLWFSSep 12-15WashingtonFrayed KnotSep 16-18at AtlantaSep 20-22at St. LouisSep 23-25PhiladelphiaSep 26-28Cincinnati

Because watching a season unfold is a whole lot better than pre-deciding the outcome and basing on your decision on that.

Not quite sure I understand this trade. Not that Eddie Kunz has done a lot to recommend holding on to him, but Dykstra is the same age as, but seems like a much lesser version of, Ike Davis. 1st basemen aren�t normally drafted real high based on the idea that those who are in that position as amateurs are usually there because they have fewer secondary skills to fall back on if the hoped-for elite bat that puts them that high in the draft falter even a little. But 2008 was the year of the 1B-man in round 1. So when Allen Dykstra was plucked with choice #23 five 1st basemen had already gone before him while in a normal year a 1B in that spot would be the 1st or 2nd one chosen. #3 - Eric Hosmer The only HS 1B of the group, he�s still just 21 y/o and is part of the huge group of top-level KC Royals prospects who are expected to mature to ML stars in the next few seasons. #7 - Yonder Alonso Drafted by the Reds out of Miami U, his progress was considered slower than expected until 2010 when got a handful of ABs at the tail end of the season with Cincy after spending most of 2010 at AAA #11 - Justin Smoak Grabbed out of U-South Carolina by Texas with the 11th pick, he was the main prize for Seattle in the mid-season 2010 Cliff Lee deal. #13 - Brett Wallace Originally selected by the Cards as a 3B out of Arizona State his, er ... �wide build� always portended a move to the other side of the diamond. Already with his 4th organization, he reached the majors with Houston late last season. #17 - David Cooper Picked by the Blue Jays from Berkeley, he�s spent all of the last two seasons in AA #18 - Ike Davis By far the most ML ABs of this group so far #23 - Allen Dykstra The San Diego native drafted by San Diego via Wake Forest U., he�s yet to rise past high-A ball where he�s been a low-BA; Hi-BB; Hi-K hitter in the usually hitting-happy California League. I still suspect most scouts would opt for Hosmer or Smoak if given the choice of the above even though Ike is clearly off the the best start, but that doesn't mean either is a given to have the better career. Below are the 2010 stats for these players: PLAYERPICKAGELEVELPAHRBA/OBA/SLGEric Hosmer#321A+/AA58620.338/.406/.571Yonder Alonso#724AA/AAA56615.290/.362/.458Justin Smoak#1124AAA2379.279/.404/.497---ML34813.218/.307/.371Brett Wallace#1324AAA42318.301/.359/.509---ML1592.222/.296/.319David Cooper#1724AA55320.257/.327/.442Ike Davis#1824ML60119.264/.351/.440Allen Dykstra#2324A+46916.241/.372/.438

They can backdate the Bay DL to where he'll just miss a week and be back in time for the home opener. That's all assuming he doesn't get hit by a train in the interim.

"It's that damn stuck-up MTV girl!!"

Wouldn't it be great to get a picture of Satin in White Nikes? Y'know, just because.

'nother HR by Hairston today ... just sayin'.

Edgy DC wrote: It's also the dawn of the era of the closer cruelly taking the lion's share of the heat. Yeah, although Mauch didn't initially go to Moore or use him under the strict closer 'rules' we've come to know. Starter Mike Witt was pitching well so he started the ninth; that lasted until Baylor's 2R HR brought the Sox to within one. Mauch then went to a lefty-specialist to face Gedman who he had struck out all three times he faced him ... and promptly hit him with the first pitch. Then up came Henderson. After that HR, Moore got out of the inning and the Angels tied it up in their half of the ninth. Moore stayed in to throw the 10th and eventually became the losing pitcher when he got into trouble in the 11th.

8. 1986 ALCS Game 5: Red Sox pull it out vs. Angels. Great game and great series all around. It obviously got overshadowed in this town due to the even better concurrent NLDS, but it was still a gem. I still remember the Al Michaels call (which you can hear faintly in the replay underneath the cross-talk) after Brian Downing nearly took out the fence making that extra-inning catch; "Are we really seeing this game?!?" The only surprising thing here is that they didn't use Joe Torre as a commentator based on the idea that he used to broadcast Angels games. I thought they'd figure out a way to get him into all of them.

A Murph error (playing 3rd) allows an unearned run (Izzy pitching) leading to a 3-2 Marlins lead.

The 'Tango with Extra Tango' sounds like a liquid version of the Monty Python Spam routine.

Looks a bit like the pitcher and hitter are separated by a moat. Come to think of it, that would be a pretty cool rules alternative.

DateTeamKTE AuthorApr 1-3at FloridaSeawolfApr 5-7at PhiladelphiaMetIrishApr 8-10WashingtonEdgy DCApr 11-14ColoradoGwreckApr 15-17at AtlantaApr 19-21HoustonApr 22-24ArizonaG-FaFiFApr 26-28at Washingtonbmfc1Apr 29-May 1at PhiladelphiaMay 3-5San FranciscoSecond SpitterMay 6-8LA DodgersJC LunchbucketMay 9-11at ColoradoMay 13-15at HoustonMay 16-17FloridaSeawolfMay 18-19WashingtonMay 20-22at YankeesMGiMMay 24-26at ChicagoMay 27-29PhiladelphiaMay 30-Jun 2PittsburghJC LunchbucketJun 3-5AtlantaJun 7-9at MilwaukeeTransMonkJun 10-13at PittsburghMetIrishJun 14-16at AtlantaJun 17-19LA AngelsG-FaFiFJun 21-23OaklandSecond SpitterJun 24-26at TexasEdgy DCJun 28-30at DetroitGwreckJul 1-3YankeesSecond SpitterJul 4-7at LA DodgersJul 8-10at San FranciscoJul 11-14All Star BreakJul 15-17PhiladelphiaJul 19-21St. LouisJul 22-24at FloridaSeawolfJul 25-28at CincinnatiJul 29-31at WashingtonAug 1-3FloridaAug 5-7AtlantaAug 8-11San DiegoEdgy DCAug 12-14at ArizonaAug 15-17at San DiegoEdgy DCAug 19-21MilwaukeeTransMonkAug 22-24at PhiladelphiaAug 26-28AtlantaAug 29-Sep 1FloridaSep 2-4at Washingtonbmfc1Sep 5-7at FloridaSep 9-11ChicagoSep 12-15WashingtonSep 16-18at AtlantaSep 20-22at St. LouisSep 23-25PhiladelphiaSep 26-28Cincinnati

Hell, until a few months ago, NFL brass was denying there was even the slightest connection between playing football and long-term concussion-related problems. They basically sounded like an only slightly less slippery version of those cigarette executives who were called to testify in front of Congress a decade or so back.

Zim also let the "metal plate in his head" story circulate for decades before admitting that he doesn't actually have one. He's a great character but I get the idea he's a bit of a lower-case Yogi at times in that there's probably some truth in most his stories but only some and the folks telling them (including himself) aren't really concerned with how much.