Frayed Knot

apmorris wrote: Giradi's making a change and I'm started to feel a little comfortable with a 7 run lead. Should've left Wood in there. Either the Yanx feel that their $10mil set-up guy is too delicate to go more than one inning or that he's untrustworthy against lefties to the point where they have more confidence in some scrub LOOGY. Either way it's not a pretty picture.

Too bad Texas is too far away otherwise we'd have a similar deal to Game 7/'04 when, by the end of the game, the vacated expensive seats were entirely populated with Red Sox fans. I'm not sure the eight or so Rangers fans who came to NY for this series would make quite the same visual or audible impact.

Fman99 wrote: And yet Washington has no one warming up in the pen. Do you think he trots Lee back out there for pitch #123? My brief window on watching Washington makes me think that he isn't exactly the guy in charge of bringing the potato salad to the next MENSA meeting if you catch my drift.

Gwreck wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: Well I certainly don't want to see anyone out there in bottom 9 except Lee. If they get any additional insurance runs across (currently 3-0) then they can certainly go to the 'pen; Lee's already at 122 pitches. Yup. Obviously a lot different now that it's no longer 2-0

Washington had to know they'd walk the ph Murphy to try for the DP w/Molina. Probably should have left Francoeur in just for the defense. .... and fat Benjy fucks up the strategy anyway.

'bout time for Vlad to do something

Well I certainly don't want to see anyone out there in bottom 9 except Lee. Closer Neftali Perez had a nice season but he's like 12 years old and has been throwing some less than clean innings lately (1.2 IP, 2 hits (1 HR) and [u:1qsdz6kd]5[/u:1qsdz6kd] BBs in post-season)

No, I'm with you. Kerry Wood, in for Pettitte, retires the side in the 8th. Cliff Lee BB/9 over his career: 4.1 2.3 2.6 3.3 1.4 (his CY year) 1.7 0.8 Nice to know - particularly with guys like Pelfrey - that walk rates aren't necessarily cast in stone early in one's career.

The Drain in Maine is due Mainly to his Pain.

Two jobs filled as LaGenius re-ups for the short term and the Mariners get a Wedgie TEAMMgr - Sept �10STATUS / UpdatedMgr (NEW) 2011A�sB. GerenOption Picked up for 2011B. GerenANGELSM. ScosciaUnder Contract thru 2018M. ScosciaASTROSB. MillsUnder Contract thru 2012B. MillsBLUE JAYSC. GastonRetired---BRAVESB. CoxRetiredF. GonzalezBREWERSK. MachaFired--- CARDINALST. LaRussaUnsigned - Re-upped for 1 yr + optionT. LaRussaCUBSM. QuadeInterim---D�BACKSK. GibsonInterim - Signed 2/yr deal on 10/4K. Gibson DODGERSJ. TorreRetiredD. MattinglyGIANTSB. BochyUnder Contract thru 2011B. BochyINDIANSM. ActaUnder Contract thru 2012M. ActaMARINERSD. BrownInterimE. WedgeMARLINSE. RodriguezInterim---METSJ. ManuelFired--- NATIONALSJ. RigglemanRenewed w/contract thru 2011J. RigglemanORIOLESB. ShowalterUnder contract thru 2013B. ShowalterPADRESB. BlackUnder Contract thru 2013B. BlackPHILLIESC. ManuelUnder Contract thru 2011C. ManuelPIRATESJ. RussellFired---RANGERSR. WashingtonUnsigned---RAYSJ. MaddonUnder Contract thru 2012J. MaddonRED SOXT. FranconaUnder Contract thru 2011T. FranconaREDSD. BakerSigned 2/yr extension on 10/4D. BakerROCKIESJ. TracyUnder Contract thru 2012J. TracyROYALSN YostUnder Contract thru 2012N. YostTIGERSJ. LeylandUnder Contract thru 2011J. LeylandTWINSR. GardenhireUnder Contract thru 2011R. GardenhireWHITE SOXO. GuillenUnder Contract thru 2011O. Guillen YANKEESJ. GirardiUnsigned---

TBS was doing those taped/between-inning chats too the other day, as does ESPN during their Sunday Night telecasts - although the purpose of that seems to be to show off how tight Joe Morgan is with whoever they're chatting with. The bottom line is that those gab-fests are rarely if ever illuminating ["So, your guy looks to be throwing his fastball real good tonight" ... "Yeah, he's throwing his fastball read good"] but the powers at be seem to think they're indispensable to the point where if they wind up stepping on a big live moment so be it. Things I just realized yesterday: - Even with the longer series, Barry Zito was once again left off the SF roster for this round. Granted he was the 5th wheel on a team with their pitching but his season wasn't THAT bad and it seems to me he could come in useful if the staff gets in a spot, although I guess they felt like they needed more 'true' relievers and with the rate Bochy's going through his pen they're probably right. - Cody Ross is one of those lefty throwing/righty swinging oddities.

The legal system probably sees the contract he'd forfeit if he didn't return as a better deterent to skipping out than bail.

"Hey Tim, real fans stick with the team through thick and thin." It's not even that. Look, I don't give a shit who roots for the team and, frankly, have no freakin' idea why a supposed journalist would even declare that he is or is not a fan of a given team unless he, for some reason, wants everything he writes - both before and after such declarations - to be seen through that prism. But this just smacks of someone looking for reasons to vent as if he's an entrant in a contest where the goal is to show how pissed off you are. It reminds me of Met fans a few years back spinning yarns about how long/how loyal fans they had been but then adding that it was all over if the team didn't rid itself of Aaron Heilman immediately - as if having HIM on the roster was the worst baseball crime ever committed and not just some reason du jour for throwing a metaphorical brick through a window.

It's amazing that networks think those in-dugout interviews help enrich their broadcasts and deliciously ironic when they miss a game-tying, no-hit breaking HR because of one.

I don't know how, from this light comment: "You people know a lot of things about the Yankees", you arrive at this: Frayed Knot wrote: It's ... not like you need to be a Yankee fan or part of some geek fan club to know who these folks are. Quite logically.

"Last year�all of it, from the Adam Rubin incident to the handling of Ryan Church and David Wright�managed to finally beat it out of me." So let's see here - over the "past few days" - he's decided that he's finally had enough - on the basis of three "incidents" - all of which happened in the year before this past one - but are apparently affecting him just now. Or at least two of them happened in 2009 because I'm not sure what "handling" they did to Wright or when & how this implied mishandling took place. And if it's his implication that it was their mishandling that knocked him down to 10 HRs I guess they must of un-mis-handled him somehow back up to his normal 30-ish level this season. I'm indifferent to his indifference.

Well I probably couldn't pick Wayne Hagin out of a lineup either (mainly because he's relatively new and is on the RADIO) but that doesn't mean I know nothing about him. Besides, John Sterling has been on NY radio in one form or another for some 40 years now (with breaks in between - he did both Braves & NBA Hawks games in Atlanta for years). He dates back to New York Nets basketball, was an early Islander radio voice (Islander goal, Islander goal was said with the same cadence as Yankees win, Yankees win), and was a sports talk radio host (WMCA) before sports talk radio as a 24 hour enterprise was even a thought in anyone's mind. And Waldman, for all her limitations, is now into her third decade on NY sports radio on two of the most powerful stations (WFAN & WABC) on the east coast. It's fine if these people aren't on your 'Friends and Family' list, but it's also not like you need to be a Yankee fan or part of some geek fan club to know who these folks are.

Well, it's not like they're far away or anything. They're in the NY newspapers, on NY TV, on NY radio and talked about around NY water coolers. Oh yeah, and we play them six times a year. Now if you're out of the NY orbit or are the type who cares about baseball only as it relates to the Mets then obviously things are going to be a bit different.

OK, two outs from Darren mixed in with a walk. At least that's two more outs than last night. btw, well over 3 hours at this point and there's still an inning plus to go. Those FOX people must have been nuts to think that allowing just 3-1/2 hours between games meant they'd get a first pitch all to themselves. AL baseball - lose it.

So not only is Oliver doing the walk thing again, but the Ranger bats have faced the chump part of the Yanqui pen and have 2 hits and 5 Ks over 3 innings after knocking the starter out after 4. I've seen this movie before and I didn't like how it ended the first time.

Willets Point wrote: Maybe it's just me, but I'm feeling good about this game for the Rangers. Oh so you're the one.

Now some folks may disagree, but I like triples more than outs.

Good God he's doing it again (bunting Kinsler after a Cruz 2B) ... OK now it's off after strike one.

And now 5-1, same fucking score as last night ... only earlier. Fortunately Lance Berkman has always been a bit of a pinhead when it comes to baserunning. A Houston board I know nicknamed him 'Fat Elvis'

Bunting with a runner on 2nd and 3-run lead with Ian Kinsler up? .... Really Ron Washington? That Smoltz (and to a lesser extent Darling) praised the idea isn't helping. And now Washington is proven correct as the following double gets the runner in. No way Cruz could have scored from 2nd on a 2-bagger. And now Texas pouring on the hits which means the only thing the bunt got them was one fewer out to work with going forward. The preceding rants were brought to you from the BiFL Society and they approved this message.