Frayed Knot

Gm 1 -- in NYY, Fri, Oct. 16 - 7:57 PM Gm 2 -- in NY, Sat, Oct. 17 - 7:57 PM Sun, Oct 18 -- OFF Gm 3 -- in Anaheim, Mon, Oct. 19 - 4:13 PM Gm 4 -- in Anaheim, Tue, Oct. 20 - 7:57 PM Wed, Oct 21 -- OFF Gm 5* -- in Anaheim, Thu, Oct. 22 - 7:57 PM Fri, Oct 23 -- OFF Gm 6* -- in NY, Sat, Oct. 24 -- 4:13 PM Gm 7* -- in NY, Sun, Oct. 25 -- 8:20 PM All games on FOX - plus there's also the usual caveat about how if the other series gets done early then some of these 4 o'clock games can get pushed to the prime-time slot. And then there's the weather. A rainout either today or tomorrow I guess brings Sunday into play although I don't know how that works with FOX's football schedule. It would also screw up the Yanx plans for (apparently) deciding to go with a three-man starting staff - something these extra off-days allows teams to do and also helps in MLB's seemingly endless desire to make post-season baseball as unlike regular season baseball as possible. Yanx have added something named Freddy Guzman to their roster at the expense of Eric Hinske. Guzman is apparently some speedy glove guy who played a few games in late September and is allowed to be on the post-season roster due to some abuse of the rule that's not supposed to allow that sort of stuff even though it happens every year. Sounds like they want to try and out-run the running Angels and figured if one Brett Gardner is good then a second is even better. Sabathia vs Lackey for game 1

Game 2: Pedro vs Padilla - two guys who not only weren't with those teams at mid-season but one of which wasn't even employed in MLB

Anytime someone needs to fall back on the; 'a lot of my friends are ...' excuse, it's already too late to save your ass.

Seems NL games take forever...I can do without such "intense" strategy for the DH. The flaw in your strategy (aside from the fact that the DH suxx of course) is that AL games average considerably longer than NL.

Bad (now-erased) copy & paste job.

Thursday, October 15 - World Series Game 5 - Shea Stadium: Mets 5 - Orioles 3 -- Jerry Koosman vs Dave McNally Don Buford - LF Paul Blair - CF Frank Robinson - RF Boog Powell - 1B Brooks Robinson - 3B Davey Johnson - 2B Andy Etchebarren - C Mark Belanger - SS Dave McNally - P Agee - CF Harrelson - SS Jones - LF Clendenon - 1B Swoboda - RF Charles - 3B Grote - C Weis - 2B Koosman - P - Koosman rolls through the first 7 batters of the game but gets burned by the bottom of the lineup to lead off the 3rd inning as a Mark Belanger single is followed by a Dave McNally HR (last ever for an AL pitcher in post-season?). Two outs later Frank Ronison hits a solo shot and the Mets are down 3-0 Koosman tried to get revenge by leading off the bottom of the 3rd with a double but was stranded there. - Mets remain scoreless until the 6th when Jones gets hit by a pitch leading off (the famous shoe-polish incident) and Clendenon follows with a 2R HR - An Al Weis HR (there's that name again) leading off the 7th ties the game - Koosman, meanwhile, retires 16 of the 17 batters following the Robinson HR -- a two-out single in the 6th is the O�s only baserunner. - McNally was PH�d for in the top of the 8th and was replaced bu reliever Eddie Watt (whenever Watt used to get announced on the PA system all the fans used to answer �What?�). Jones was his first hitter and he doubled. Clendenon grounded out but then Swoboda doubled in Jones. Charles flied to LF. Then Grote got on via a Boog Powell error and Swoboda came around to score when the ball rolled away. Weis struck out to end the inning but now it�s a 2-run lead with only 3 outs to go Top 9: - Frank Robinson walks to start the inning. - Powell�s grounder forces Frank at 2nd. - Brooks Robinson flies to Swoboda in RF - Davey Johnson flies to a kneeling Cleon Jones in LF - City and many surrounding areas go crazy Game Time = 2:14

Darling's right, the umps shouldn't allow this change. Just another in a long line of reasons why these games take 4 hours.

It's spot like this why they traded for Thome

Well this game just got fun again.

That was me arguing with you back then. My point was not that Victorino was right, only that it should be on the ump for falling for the ruse not on him for trying to get the call. I didn't see this one as I tuned in late.

So, IOW, when comparing the '63 NYM bats to the '62-ers (who were pretty bad to begin with) the 2nd year fellows fell even further below a standard which itself had headed south from the previous year. And then Craig, to heap bad upon worse, frequently got the short end of even those efforts. Good thing us CPFers were wise enough to still rank him as 3rd best Met that year.

1963 was a bad year for hitting in general. After the 'expansion jump' that kicked up the offense in '61-'62 ('61 especially) 1963 started the nosedive that bottomed-out in 1968 and led to the change in pitching mound and strike zone. In all that '63-'68 span was probably the most hitting-challenged since the dead-ball era. MLB averages: 1962: R/G = 4.46; BA/OBA/SLG = .258/.326/.393 1963: R/G = 3.95; BA/OBA/SLG = .246/.309/.372

On yeah, and only one more game to go.

I like how in that photo Swoboda's glove is already virtually on the ground and the ball isn't even in the picture yet. "Nice. How far into right field was sect 27?" That's about half-way out towards the corner isn't it? "What do you recall about that game?" Basically the highlights: the catch, the bunt, ... and oh yeah, Weaver getting tossed from the game. Crowd loved that part. "Do you think it's right that did dad let you go and not me?" Of course

Thurs, 10/15 - 8:07 in LA Fri, 10/16 - 4:07 in LA Sat - OFF Sun, 10/18 - 8:07 in Phil Mon, 10/19 - 8:07 in Phil Tues - OFF Wed, 10/21 - 8:07 in Phil Thurs - OFF Fri, 10/23 - 8:07 in LA Sat, 10/24 - 8:07 in LA I hate these extra off-days, especially when you consider that their only purpose is to stagger the games so as to have as few week-end games as possible (running scared from football) and so that the WS starts in mid-week. The number of days where there are AL & NL games together doesn't change from the old format, it just takes longer to complete. Game 1 tonight -- Hamels vs Kershaw

Wednesday, October 15 - World Series Game 4 -- Tom Seaver vs Mike Cuellar I watched the game from one of these seats This game featured �The Catch� before anyone ever heard of Montana and Clark Don Buford - LF Paul Blair - CF Frank Robinson - RF Boog Powell - 1B Brooks Robinson - 3B Elrod Hendricks - C Davey Johnson - 2B Mark Belanger - SS Mike Cuellar - P Agee - CF Harrelson - SS Jones - LF Clendenon - 1B Swoboda - RF Charles - 3B Grote - C Weis - 2B Seaver - P After Clendenon�s leadoff HR in the 2nd puts the Mets up 1-0, both teams remain scoreless through the 8th as Cuellar otherwise holds the Mets to 5 singles through 7, Seaver limits the O�s to 3 singles thru 8. Top 9: Trailing 1-0, one out singles by Frank Robinson & Boog Powell sets up 1st & 3d. What comes next is described in the box score as a �Flyball RF/CF - Sac Fly: Roninson scores� is only one of the great moments in WS history. With one out it�s probable that Powell would NOT have scored from 1st on that play had Swoboda missed the ball, but, at best, it would have been 2nd & 3rd with still just one out and the game already tied. Instead, Hendricks then lines out - again to RF - to end the inning. Bottom 9: Mets get two on via singles by Jones & Swoboda - but Shamsky pinch-hitting for Charles grounts-out. Top 10: Seaver, still hurling, puts on two (error & single) but gets Buford on a FO and Ks Blair Bottom 10: Grote dumps a bloop double into LF off reliever Dick (Turkey Neck) Hall. Gaspar runs for Grote. Weis is intentionally walked JC Martin PHs for Seaver and lefty Pete Richert is brought in the face him. Martin�s bunt is fielded by Richert whose throw hits Martin (on the line?) on his wrist and Gaspar scores as the ball rolls away into short RF Game Time 2:33

If Jack Wilson can command $5-8mil/yr it's because someone thinks he can hack it as a starter which means it's not going to be here. And if he's going to sign here as a backup you don't give him that kind of money OR a 3-year deal much less both.

... and on a related note: Mets shortstop Jose Reyes will undergo surgery on his injured right leg on Thursday in Dallas. Reyes is scheduled for a cleanup of some scar tissue remaining from a torn hamstring tendon behind his right knee. The Mets have said Reyes will not need an operation to repair his torn right hamstring. The Mets said Wednesday that Dr. Daniel E. Cooper will perform Reyes' surgery. -- AP

He's not a SS. Maybe for a few innings here or there he could be, but not if you want him as longer-term Reyes insurance. The funny part is that he was the #1 hot-shot SS prospect prior to Reyes. They always thought he might hit more although even then it was questionable whether his growing (and not in a good way) frame would eventually move him off SS. Problem is he hasn't really hit either. Also looks to me to be a very undisciplined player; not just as a hitter but a bit of a meat-head as well. ESPN announcer Jon Miller - who does speak Spanish - is the one mainly responsible for making the 'Betta-Meat' pronunciation of that name known, as opposed to the previously common Bet-a-Mitt. He's the one who also insists on Carlos Bell-TRAHN rather than the more Americanized BELL-tran. The fact that that particular quirk sends Joe Benigno into fits of rage (not that it's a long journey) makes it good in my mind.

It seems to me that the one to LCF hung up there longer and was the one where Agee had to cover the most ground to get, but of course that was off the bat of the much slower Hendricks. Blair's I remember as more of a liner and not as deep but once Agee left his feet it would have been up to Swoboda to retrieve that one if Tommie missed it. Almost certainly would have cashed in three runs and was quite possibly a triple, but Shea didn't give up many inside-park HRs (nor many triples for that matter) so I think it would have needed some pretty nutty bounces before Blair could come around to score.

As far as I know, each team gets a set number of entries into the league so no one team is heavy with prospects from one organization. That's also part of the reason for the taxi squad deal, certain players (late entries, injury rehabs, pitchers on work-load limits, etc.) are only eligible to play on designated days of the week so it's known in advance which are their days and which go to the "regulars".

First WS game ever at Shea Stadium How 'bout that $10 price tag, huh? Tuesday, October 14 - World Series Game 3 - Shea Stadium: Mets 5 - Orioles 0 -- Gary Gentry vs Jim Palmer Weaver goes back to his game 1 catcher Hendricks and otherwise sticks to his usual starting seven but Gil stacks the lineup with lefties (Barrett, Shamsky, Krnaepool, Boswell) against the RH Palmer. Don Buford - LF Paul Blair - CF Frank Robinson - RF Boog Powell - 1B Brooks Robinson - 3B Elrod Hendricks - C Davey Johnson - 2B Mark Belanger - SS Jim Palmer - P Agee - CF Garrett - 3B Jones - LF Shamsky - RF Boswell - 2B Kranepool - 1B Grote - C Harrellson - SS Gentry - P The game that could have carried the sub-title of; �Mets score five, Agee saves five - But first it�s Agee�s bat that leads off 1st inning with a HR (and starts a trend of NYM WS Game 3 leadoff HRs) - Gentry�s 2-out, 2-RBI double in the 2nd scores Grote & Harrelson and makes a 3-0 lead - Orioles don�t get their first hits until the 4th. One-out singles from F. Robinson & Powell are followed by a B. Robinson K and then a run-saving inning-ending catch by Agee on Hendricks� drive (that was the back-hander in deep LCF) - In the 6th Grote�s double drives in Boswell and it�s 4-0 Mets - Gentry gets the first two outs in the 7th but then walks the bases loaded ending his day. Paul Blair is Ryan�s first hitter and his drive to RCF is snagged inches off the ground by a diving Agee to end the inning and save probably 3 more runs. - Ryan retires the side in the top of the 8th, Kranepool HRs in the bottom off reliever Dennis Leonhard for the Mets fifth run - Ryan then loads the base in the 9th on a walk - single - walk after getting the first two, but gets Blair looking for the final out. Despite all the threats, the vaunted Oriole bats are held to 4 singles (plus 7 walks) one day after being held to just 2 singles. Mets lead series 2-1 Game Time = 2:23

I kinda like Grimm's answer better, but it's those players designated as eligible for twice a week play only.