Frayed Knot

Fillies getting no-hit thru 8 (2 BBs)

Would Marsh even be allowed to pitch with that hair? With what looks like about a quart and a half of oil up in that salad, some of that would figure to get on his hands and the ball just by osmosis.

Most of the runs won't be his, but always nice seeing Alvarado get knocked around.

Cleveland was star of the show: https://www.cleveland.com/guardians/2022/11/guardians-grab-franchise-record-four-gold-glove-awards.html'dians grab franchise-record 4 Gold Glove awards DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS!!! except when it doesn't

Odd that MLB is not eliminating the second off-day because of the rain out but just shifting to Friday as the 'travel day' (instead of Thursday) and playing 6 & 7 on Saturday & Sunday even though they initially set things up to avoid both Sundays and not go head to head with the NFL Of course it might not get to a game 7 anyway. So, Lance McCullers Jr., not so hot tonight, eh?

Def past his prime ... 38 y/o in a few weeks. OPS: 945, 924, 881, 860, 832, 788 [2017 - 2022] seeing a pattern here? Of course he'd consider a return to NY. He'd consider a job offer anywhere!

btw, one of the ways they've been using ROBO-UMP in the Fall League (and at least some of the other minors) is as a challenge system. The HP Ump still calls balls and strikes but the pitchers and batters in the game -- and ONLY them -- have a total of three challenges each where they can question the just made call. The result is then shown on the video board 'Tennis style' and that graphic is used to overturn, or not, the call. Not sure that this will be better than just turning it over to Robby Robot entirely. But maybe it's the transition folks need before they'll accept it.

=G-Fafif post_id=112146 time=1667147068 user_id=55] Noah starts Game Three. He is well-rested.

A WS game just got delayed for five minutes for That?!?

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: So how about those Fightins? Yeah, I was just about to add: a Game #1 comeback win on the road and Wheeler on the mound. Ooops!

Watched the final three innings this morning. Why? Because 4 34, that's why. Down 5 - 0 early vs Verlander and a Realmuto HR leading off the 10th is the game winner. Phillies winning via bullpen and defense. Whoda thunk it? Oh, and free tacos this year are courtesy of a stolen base by ... Kyle Schwarber. Go figure.

Both Verlander and Nola are gone before the 6th inning even starts.

Verlander's WS pitching woes [0 - 6, 5.68 ERA in 7 starts] continue. Was perfect thru 3 [36 pitches] and had a 5 - 0 lead, but has now given it all back in innings 4 & 5 where it took him 64 pitches just to get through those two. 5 - 5 heading into bottom 5

The above description sounds slightly like that of: The Montgomery Burns Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence.

Edgy MD wrote: Other differences: National League home plate umpies wore their chest protectors under the shirt or jacket, while ALers had the big foam shield. (I might have that backwards, but I don't think so.) One circuit routinely positioned the second-base ump on the infield grass on one knee, just inside the dirt, and the other kept him behind second, near the outfield grass. You've got the chest protector thing correct. As Grimm noted, that the AL umps used the big shield prevented them from crouching as much as their NL counterparts and, therefore, was seen as the origin of the low-strike/high-strike gap. Don't remember about the 2B ump but that may be correct. This may be my prejudice, but the National League ump roster was full of bigger characters with more authority, who were less likely to indulge arguments, tossing the manager and walking away early in a dispute. American league umps were more likely to go jaw to jaw with the managers for a few minutes (as if Billy Martin or Earl Weaver were somehow going to calm down as you heard them out), and these umps wouldn't toss them until a few minutes in after there was a bump or a line-crossing word, which was pretty much always "**********." Keith swears to this day that the NL had the better umps in his day and going back to before it as well, both in the nuts and bolts area as well as general deportment. Not sure how universal/provable/testable that theory is but one of the reasons behind the '90s era umpire movement when many would openly admit that they didn't call the rule book strike zone was that MLB had no right to control them because they weren't hired by MLB they were hired by either the AL or the NL and therefore weren't answerable to the commissioner's office as Selig sought to complete the slow-motion merger of the two halves. Still not sure why they thought a mass resignation was a good strategy for fighting their battle but, safe to say, it didn't work and wound up making Sandy Alderson a very happy man.

Nothing wrong with that, I'm wearing Underoos today.

=Fman99 post_id=111949 time=1666746344 user_id=86] I recall exactly fuck-all about the 1980 NLCS

Game 1, in Philly: Phils 3 - Astros 1 - Ken Forsch goes (all) 8 innings for Houston allowing 3 runs on 8 hits - Carlton scatters 7 hits over 7 capped by Tug's 2 innings of 0-hit/1-BB 8th & 9th - Luzinski's 2R 6th inning HR and Greg Gross's 7th inning single provide the runs Game 2: Astros 7 - Phils 4, 10 innings Nolan Ryan & Dick Ruthven - Tied 2-2 after 7, teams each score single runs in the 8th - Astros hit up relievers Ron Reed & Kevin Saucier for four in top 10 - Phils counter with 1 in the bottom half but Schmidt flies out as the tying run to end it Game 3: Astros 1 - Phils 0 (11) - Joe Niekro goes 10 and Dave Smith gets the 11th - Larry Christensen and four relievers pitch for Philly but this time Tug is on the short end giving up a leadoff triple to Joe Morgan then, following two IWs, (Jose Cruz & Art Howe) a GW Sac Fly to Denny Walling Game 4: Phils 5 - Asttos 3 (10) - Steve Carlton and five relievers hold the Astros to 5 hits although walk Nine!! - Vern Ruhle, Dave Smith & Joe Sambito allow 13 hits but back to back 10th inning doubles by Luzinski and Manny Trillo give Philly their margin after Tug mows 'em down 1-2-3 in bottom 10 Game 5: Philly 8 - Astros 7 (10) - After scoring 3 in the top of the 8th to break a 2-2 tie, perhaps allowing Nolan to come out for the 8th on three days rest was pushing it as Houston starts the frame 1B, 1B, 1B, BB (although two were IF hits) then tack on four more via an RBI GO, a Del Unser single, and 2-RBI Manny Trillo triple. - Houston then battles back with two of McGraw in the 8th - But Garry Maddox's 2-out RBI single in top 10 proves to be the series clincher as Dick Ruthven retires the Astros in order in the 9th & 10

It just occurred to me that this this likely is the first HOU/PHI post-season match-up since the 1980 NLCS, a wild affair that saw Philly win 3 - 2 (en route to their first ever WS title) where four of the five games (#'s 2, 3, 4, & 5) went extra innings.

When I've got no skin in the game (no NYM to root for, no NYY to root against) I often won't pick a side at first, sometimes to the point of rooting for whichever side is down just to get a longer series out if it. But then at some point I'll unconsciously find myself pulling for one side or the other before I realize I'm even doing so. This series feels like it might be one of those, one where I might not have a favorite until game 5 or 6.

'The Titular Cat', not one of Robert Ludlum's better novels.

Frayed Knot wrote: =Fman99 post_id=111837 time=1666575428 user_id=86] ... to Jeremy Pena, whoever that is. Rookie SS Born Dominican Republic but drafted 3rd round out of Univ of Maine after attending HS in Rhode Island. That's probably a unique path.

Astros take a 4 - 3 lead into bottom 3rd in a game that ain't ending anytime soon.

=Fman99 post_id=111837 time=1666575428 user_id=86] ... to Jeremy Pena, whoever that is.

First pitch currently protected for 8:30