Frayed Knot

Didn't mind Beltran swinging so much there as the fact that he just swung at a shitty pitch. They were gong to bring the LHP in to face Murphy after that so it may have been their best opp to get in the run. It would be just a fitting tribute to the season if they got one run this inning yet still lost on account of Frankie's run.

OK, I missed the game up to this point (top 7). Can someone explain THIS to me? - Schneider flied out to center. - A. Hernandez walked. - Figueroa lined out to first, Hernandez to second ?!? - Pagan walked. - Castillo singled to center, Hernandez scored, Pagan to third. - Wright struck out swinging The Wright striking out part I understand

Sure, but you can't take the best of him during one (short) period and add it to the best of him during another span and say, hey look, 'he's a high-OBP guy with pop' when he's really only been each of those things briefly and not at the same time. Like I said earlier, I really don't think anyone knows what exactly Murphy is yet or what he's destined to be.

Actually, his Aug/Sept this year looks very different from what he did last year. As pointed out above, virtually no walks these days even though that was one of his most obvious strengths last season. Walk rate 2008: .084 {.397 OBA on a BA of .313} Walk rate 2009: .048 {.314 OBA on a BA of .266} but then look at his track record from Aug-Sept of '09: a walk rate of approx .011, or 4 BBs in 188 plate appearances (ML average is about .070) And, yeah, this recent surge and the real low walks is from a small sample size - hell, his whole career is - but that's kind of the point; I don't think we know what we really have in Daniel Murphy yet. He's a guy with one full season in the minors plus and parts of two others (less than 1,000 ABs) and was the 3rd position player from his draft year to reach the majors - something that's certainly not common for a 13th round pick.

BA: Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman has been "granted provisional passive residency in the country of Andorra pending the finalization of the process," according to a statement from his agency. Chapman, a 21-year-old lefthander, defected from Cuba while traveling with the Cuban national team in the Netherlands at the World Port Tournament in July ... has sent Major League Baseball his residency materials, which MLB must still investigate before declaring him a free agent. Buster Olney: - Chapman will throw for various teams and "the usual suspects will be involved" (read: big market clubs) - There are some questions about his 'makeup and command' - How much he gets will depend on the results/look of those side sessions he'll throw. Olney opined that he could get as much as Matsuzaka's $50mil or so - but of course that was the talk concerning Strasburg too, who wound up getting, what ... $18?. Sometimes I think these writers/analysts like throwing out big numbers just because it sounds so cool plus, if he ever does get that much, they can say they told us so way back when.

Monday, September 22 - Shea Stadium: Mets 3 - Cardinals 1 -- Tom Seaver vs Nelson Briles A scoreless game until the 6th, Shamsky�s one-out single brings in Agee and breaks the shutout. In the 7th, Seaver and Agee knock in single runs. The Cards touch up Seaver for a run in the 8th, but otherwise he cruises to a 4-hit, 0-walk complete game. Game Time = 2:05 94 - 61; 1st Place; 5.0 Games Ahead -- Cubs idle

Stoner - 0.8 Stokes - 0.8 Takahasi - 0.4 Parnell - 0.4 AHernandez - 0.3 Murphy - 2.1 Pagan - 0.4 Castillo - 0.8

"Aroldis Chapman ... just gained citizenship to Andorra" Thus increasing Andorra's population to 13 He was in the news when he defected some months ago. As usual for Cuban players - and perhaps especially so for pitchers - the estimates of his value fluctuate wildly.

And yet another double-header! Sunday, September 21 - Shea Stadium: Mets 5 - Pirates 3 (Game 1 of DH) -- Jerry Koosman vs Dock Ellis Koosman goes all the way on a 6-hitter to end the first NYM 3-game losing streak since July 2 RBIs each early in the game from Dyer & Swoboda puts the Mets up 4-1. Then, after the Bucs closed to within 4-3, a 7th inning Shamsky HR provides the insurance. Game Time = 2:14 Sunday, September 21 - Shea Stadium: Mets 6 - Pirates 1 (Game 2 of DH) -- Don Cardwell vs Steve Blass Willie Stargell�s 4th inning solo HR is the only thing keeping Cardwell from a complete game shutout Mets, meanwhile, take advantage of 4 Pirate errors to score 4 unearned runs. The DH sweep salvages the final two games of a five-game series after losing the first two. Game Time = 2:23 (another sub-5-hour DH) 93 - 61; 1st Place; 4.5 Games Ahead -- Cubs beat Cardinals 4-3 Any chance the Cubs had at getting back into the race disappeared when they gained only a half-game while the Mets were losing three straight. Now they manage to win a game but lose that gained ground right back anyway. Their goose is cooked at this point and they know it.

Maine 2.2 Dessens - 1.1 Green - 0.35 Rodriguez - 0.25 Pagan - 1.2 Castillo 1.0 Murphy 1.6 Beltran - 1.0 Valdez - 1.0 Thole - 0.3

and there was much rejoicing ... yay

Two rules NOT to break after being handed a 6-run lead in the 9th inning: Rule 1) bring the tying run to the plate Rule 2) see Rule 1 Fortunately we had those tack-on runs earlier. The 8th & 9th innings of this game really slammed the brakes on what had been a quickly moving gig.

Saturday, September 20 - Shea Stadium: Mets 0 - Pirates 4 -- Gary Gentry vs Bob Moose So they take over 1st place, win 6 of 7 on the road, then come home against the so-so Pirates and suddenly lose three in a row!?! What could be worse than that? --- Oh I don�t know, getting no-hit maybe! Moose Ks 6 and walks 3 but no Met gets a hit in their 2nd straight shut-out loss. Meanwhile Pittsburgh wasn�t hitting much either (6 singles) but Gentry�s total mess of a 4th inning allows 3 runs on just one hit: Walk - single - double steal - Wild Pitch (run) - Walk - HBP - Wild Pitch (run) - RBI-GO (run) - Fly Out - Fly Out McGraw comes in to pitch the final three innings and HE allows a run on a wild pitch Game Time = 2:08 91 - 61; 1st Place; 5.0 Games Ahead -- Cubs lose again to StL 4-1 Bob Moose, who was just 21 this his second ML season, wound up 14-3 with a 2.91 ERA for 1969. It was the first of 5 double-digit win seasons for him by the time he was 25. He then would be shifted to the bullpen in 1974 but he was also called on to relieve in the 9th inning of the deciding game of the 1972 NLCS. The Pirates took a one-run lead into the 9th when their �closer� (wouldn�t have been called that at the time) Dave Giusti gave up a leadoff HR to Johnny Bench to tie the game. After two more singles, Giusti was pulled in favor of Moose who had the near impossible task of not losing the pennant after coming in with two on and no outs. But he got the first out on a Fly Ball but pinch-runner George Foster (for Perez) moved to 3rd. With the winning run there Moose got an infield pop-up for out #2. But then, with Hal McRae at the plate, he uncorked a wild pitch and the Reds went on the the WS. The Pirates did not make the post-season in 1976 which was bad news for Bob Moose in several ways. During the NLCS of that year Moose was driving to a charity golf tournament when he was killed in a car wreck. It was his 29th birthday.

Wow, Twins score 5 in the 8th to beat Detroit 6-2 in a game which had been dominated by Verlander up to that point. A hit lost in the Metrodome ceiling was part of the rally.

Redding 4.6 Rodriguez - 0.8 Feliciano - 0.25 Francoeur - 1.9 Murphy 1.2 Wright - 1.0 Castillo - 0.25

A WIN!!! I was beginning to forget what one of those looked like. (and in a crisp 2:18)

Luis to the rescue!!

OK, nice start there Frankie. Now finish it off.

Pedro to the rescue.

5 hits for the Nats (so far) 3 haven't left the infield. Then throw in the fact that Green can't reach his 1st baseman from 15 feet away and we're in trouble here despite the Nats having 2 legit hits all game.

Pelfrey - 1.0 Feliciano - 0.2 Green - 0.3 Wright - 0.5 Francoeur - 1.5 Valdez - 1.0 Beltran - 1.0 Pagan - 1.0 Castillo - 1.0