Frayed Knot

TV horseracing analyst... and deadbeat. Yeah, like that's an unusual combination

... and your Surprise Rafters!! No. Pitchers --- Team B T Ht. Wt. DOB 2009 Club 43 Gary Daley - STL R R 6-3 200 11/01/85 --Springfield (AA) 35 Grant Duff - NYY R R 6-6 210 12/19/82 --Trenton (AA) 29 Michael Dunn - NYY L L 6-1 195 05/23/85 -- Scranton/WB (AAA) 59 Brennan Garr* - TEX R R 6-2 190 02/22/84 -- Frisco (AA) 41 Scott Gorgen - STL R R 5-10 190 01/27/87 -- Springfield (AA) 33 Danny Gutierrez - TEX R R 6-1 180 03/08/87 -- Wilmington (Hi A) 54 Matt Harrison - TEX L L 6-4 225 09/16/85 -- Texas (MLB) ?? Aaron Hartsock - KC R R 6-3 200 01/17/84 -- Northwest Arkansas (AA) 22 Ian Kennedy - NYY R R 6-0 195 12/19/84 -- Scranton/WB (AAA) 17 Zach Kroenke - NYY R L 6-2 210 04/21/84 -- Scranton/WB (AAA) 34 Jenrry Mejia - NYM R R 6-0 162 10/11/89 -- Binghamton (AA) 38 Scott Moviel - NYM R R 6-10 235 05/07/88 -- St. Lucie (Hi A) 27 Eric Niesen - NYM L L 6-0 192 09/04/85 -- Binghamton (AA) 30 Mike Parisi - STL R R 6-3 215 04/18/83 -- GCL Cardinals ® 49 Evan Reed - TEX R R 6-4 225 12/31/85 -- Bakersfield (Hi A) 50 Adam Reifer - STL R R 6-2 195 06/03/86 -- Palm Beach (Hi A) 46 Tanner Scheppers - TEX R R 6-4 200 01/17/87 -- Fresno State (NCAA) 56 Brandon Sisk - KC L L 6-3 210 07/13/85 -- Wilmington (Hi A) 28 Josh Stinson - NYM R R 6-4 210 03/14/88 -- St. Lucie (Hi A) 55 Ben Swaggerty - KC L L 6-1 185 08/08/82 -- Northwest Arkansas (AA) 44 Blake Wood - KC R R 6-4 225 08/08/85 -- Northwest Arkansas (AA) No. Catchers -- Team B T Ht. Wt. DOB 2009 Club 24 Bryan Anderson - STL L R 6-1 200 12/16/86 -- Memphis (AAA) 11 Doug Hogan - TEX R R 6-3 210 09/29/84 -- Bakersfield (Hi A) 48 Austin Romine - NYY R R 6-2 210 11/22/88 -- Tampa (Hi A) No. Infielders -- Team B T Ht. Wt. DOB 2009 Club 7 Jeff Bianchi - KC R R 6-0 175 10/05/86 -- Northwest Arkansas (AA) 16 Ike Davis - NYM L L 6-5 195 03/22/87 -- Binghamton (AA) 13 Daniel Descalso - STL L R 5-10 190 10/19/86 -- Memphis (AAA) 2 Reese Havens* - NYM L R 6-1 195 10/20/86 -- St. Lucie (Hi A) 47 Brandon Laird - NYY R R 6-1 215 09/11/87 -- Tampa (Hi A) 5 Marcus Lemon - TEX L R 5-11 173 06/03/88 -- Frisco (AA) 21 Mike Moustakas - KC L R 6-0 195 09/11/88 -- Wilmington (Hi A) 1 Ruben Tejada - NYM R R 5-11 165 10/27/87 -- Binghamton (AA) No. Outfielders --- Team B T Ht. Wt. DOB 2009 Club 20 Colin Curtis - NYY L L 6-1 200 02/01/85 -- Scranton/WB (AAA) 15 Lucas Duda - NYM L R 6-4 225 02/03/86 -- Binghamton (AA) 14 Tyler Henley* - STL L L 5-10 200 06/10/85 -- Springfield (AA) 4 Daryl Jones - STL L L 5-11 180 06/25/87 -- Springfield (AA) 31 David Lough - KC L L 6-0 180 01/20/86 -- Northwest Arkansas (AA) 25 Mitch Moreland - TEX L L 6-2 230 09/06/85 -- Frisco (AA) * Taxi Squad

I'm assuming that parody was already kicking around some place (past parody challenge?) and wasn't just slapped together in like 7 minutes? Hell, it would take longer than that just to type it.

The odds on collecting draft picks from hanging on to Wagner were never better than remote to begin with - and then the odds of one or more of them being a better bet than a player who's already reached AAA (and briefly the majors) is iffy as well. And, not to sound like a Wagner suck-up, but his final game where he started the fire that burned Papelbon was more bad luck than bad pitching. The leadoff "double" off him was a chopper that Youkilis tried to scoop and wound up swatting into the photog's booth. He then got two outs sandwiched around a walk including another slow chopper hit too slowly to become a GiDP. He got charged with both runs when Papelbon allowed a 2R single to the first batter he faced. He always said he'd retire after this contract ran out but starting saying otherwise after he got hurt. Not sure what made him (apparently) reverse track now - possibly an acknowledgment that he's not going to get a big-money closer's deal. I think he can still be a serviceable pitcher, but maybe that's not what he wants.

At least we got one non-sweep out of this round. MLB (and their TV partners) are definitely getting hit with short series lately. Long games but short series aren't a good combination. Need to reverse that. This one was a pretty good series over all. 3 of the 4 games were close and the final two ending with Lidge getting Tulowitski w/tying & winning runs on base makes for some good drama.

No, Koosman shoulda.

Sunday, October 12 - World Series Game 2 - Memorial Stadium: Mets 2 - Orioles 1 -- Jerry Koosman vs Dave McNally Same lineup for Gil in game 2 while Earl changes catchers: Agee - CF Harrelson - SS Jones - LF Clendenon - 1B Swoboda - RF Charles - 3B Grote - C Weis - 2B Koosman - P 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 - Mets get a leadoff walk in the 2nd but don�t score - In the 3rd they get a leadoff single and later a walk but can�t bring any around - Clendenon�s leadoff HR in the 4th breaks the ice - The score stays that way until Paul Blair leads off the 7th with the Orioles first hit of the game. Two outs later he steals 2nd and comes in on a Brooks Robinson RBI single - Game remains tied at 1 when McNally, still hurling in the 9th, gets the first two outs before three consecutive singles by Charles, Grote & Weis makes it 2-1 Mets. - Koosman also gets the first two in the bottom half, but when he walks Frank Robinson & Powell, Hodges calls on Taylor for the final out, getting Brooks Robinson to ground to 3rd and even the series at one game each. Those two 7th inning singles were the only Oriole hits of the game. Koosman walked three. Game Time = 2:20

6:00 game today -- 4:00 local time so the conditions should be a bit better anyway. They got a break from the fact that the other three series all wound up a sweeps so there's no need to shun this series to the ghetto time slots anymore.

Huston Street piles on the evidence that it's 'Bad Closer Week'* in MLB. Not that he got smacked all over the park, but he came into a tied game in top 9 and went: Single (Rollins) - Bunt (Victorino) - Infield Single (Utley) - Sac Fly (Howard) for what turned out to be the winning run. He then walked Werth but got the 3rd out. Manual went to Lidge for the save (had already used Blanton, Durbin, Eyre & Madson) in bottom 9. He gave up 2 walks and a stolen base but got Tulowitski on a fly out to end the game. But of course nobody saw any of this because the game didn't end until past 2 o'clock in the freakin' morning (EDT). A 10:07 first pitch and a 4 hour 6 minute game. As the saying goes, you do the math. The NYY/Twins game, meanwhile, went 3:25 despite getting through the first 5 innings (of what was practically a double perfect game) in 1:20. So the last 4 innings took over 2 hours. 5 runs were scored total. The Boston/Angels game went 3:49. Bud, you've got a problem. * Ryan Franklin, Jonathan Papelbon & Joe Nathan all blew save opps in the first week of post-season

I think the next Yanqui batter Nathan retires will be the first ... and I'm talking about in his career.

Well right now you're not watching three different Twins pitchers issue three consecutive walks. I guess they just want to remove any doubt about their coming back in bottom 9

At least this time no one will be able to blame it on the Mets as someone on the radio did yesterday for game one's gaffe (on account of it being former Met Gomez getting nailed for wandering)

Why do teams playing the Yanx put 'BE REALLY STUPID' into their game plans all the time?!?!? Mutha-Fucka there's NO OUTS DUDE, where da fuck ya going?!?

I didn't really have a problem with the cool chick digs the shy dork plot line. I mean, yeah, like she'd ever give me the time of day but there was enough damage going on elsewhere in her life that wanting to hang with a "normal" guy made it at least a plausible device. In all it started a bit slow but I got into it. Like Sharpie said, nice little flick. Probably wasn't more popular due to lack of the Apatow-ness now expected from teen romance flicks. I looked up Margarita Levieva (the one who played 'Lisa P') on IMDB because ... well, because why not!?! born: 1985 St Petersburg, Russia. A member of the Russian Olympic Rhythmic Gymnastic team - although attended HS in New Jersey.

Bucknor did have a couple of clunkers of his own in the Bos-LAA series though, including one where Youkilis had to come off 1st to make a tag but didn't get the call even though the replay shows his mitt being bent back from the force of slapping the tag on the runner's hip. Youk should have told him; "Missed him?, I think I bruised him!"

Maybe it's just one of those 'whenever I'm looking he suxx' situations. Or that his ridiculous pace annoys me to the point where I'm cutting him no slack at all. Combine those two with the label slapped on him (Francesa being one of the ringleaders) that he's a "proven big game pitcher"* - as if that title once acquired becomes a universal truth - and I just don't find him to be 'all that'. Looking at stats: His walks ballooned this year but, other than that, his hits allowed, runs allowed, etc are all pretty good and the WHiP (even with the higher walks) is still OK. I get the feeling that he's allowed more than his share of inherited runners to score which would make his value less attractive than the stats show but maybe that's an only when I'm looking deal too. * hereafter known as a PBGP

Y'know, not only is Papelbon a bit of a meathead not to mention a chore to watch as he takes forever to throw each pitch -- but he's not all that good either. He just coughed up a 2-run 9th inning lead (after getting the first two outs) and that was all after allowing the two runners he inherited to score in the 8th. Angels lead 7-6 going to bottom 9th. Plus the Sawx already removed several of their bats for defensive and/or running purposes (Papi, Lowell)

Game 3 update: Kazmir getting his butt kicked in Fenway so far. 5-1 after 4 including a couple of hard-hit 'Fenway singles' off the monster that would have gone for extras somewhere else. Noon starting time on a Sunday afternoon: Love it!

Saturday, October 11 - World Series Game 1 - Memorial Stadium: Mets 1 - Orioles 4 -- Tom Seaver vs Mike Cuellar Agee - CF Harrelson - SS Jones - LF Clendenon - 1B Swoboda - RF Charles - 3B Grote - C Weis - 2B Seaver - P 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 - Mets don�t score in the top of the first, and then when Don Buford hits the 2nd pitch thrown by a Met in the World Series over the RF fence it�s 1-0 Orioles - In the 4th Seaver gets the first two outs but then, while facing the lower part of the lineup, allows a Single (Hendricks), Walk (Johnson), RBI-Single (Belanger), RBI-Single (Cuellar), RBI-Double (Buford) and the Os lead 4-zip - Cardwell relieves Seaver for the 6th. In the 7th the Mets load the bases with one out on a Clendenon single, Swoboda walk, and Grote single. Al Weis gts one in with a Sac Fly, but pinch-hitter Gaspar grounds out to end the threat. - Mets get one runner on in the 8th and two in the 9th but Cuellar gets Shamsky on a come-backer to complete his 6-hit victory. Game Time = 2:13

Can't say I'm upset at seeing the Cards watch someone celebrate on their turf as they're swept out by the LA Torre's in three straight. Bad game one for Carpenter, bad game two for closer Franklin and rental Holliday, plus a non-dominate series from Prince Albert (several pitch-arounds)

Game 3 postponed in Denver long before they ever got near game-time. That allows the Phils to NOT start Pedro when the game is played on Sunday night ([u:n7yp3m4p]10[/u:n7yp3m4p] PM EDT) and I suspect the unlikelihood of that game ever being played was half the reason they scheduled him in the first place. Happ will go instead. And so after getting complaints about the starting times on account of trying to stuff three games in on Wednesday, they wind up with only one played on Saturday.

Not scoring like that in extras when you're the road team is so mentally deflating. Once you go out you know that in order to win you have to: hold them scoreless, score yourself next time, and then hold them again - and there's only so many times you can pull that off when facing that team. Of course it would be nice if the umps didn't screw it up too. Twins wound up with four straight "hits" in top 11 and didn't score. "Over the 318 mark" Actually it wasn't even over. Hit the top of the fence at its shortest point and bounced over.