Frayed Knot

Turns out it didn't.

This could get real ugly, real fast.

1) Install/enforce pitch time limits. I'm open to different interpretations of exactly how to do it, but do it. I was hoping that having this in the minors leagues for the past few years would slowly infuse the bigs with players who never developed the quirks, tics, yoga poses, and dance steps between each pitch thereby making an actual clock not necessary but it's not happening fast enough so a physical clock with strict enforcement is likely needed. 2) No additional warm-up pitches for incoming relievers Mid-inning pitching changes represent a longer break than the breaks between half-innings (roughly 2-1/2 minutes per) and this for guys who have already warmed up!! I have no idea why this doesn't seem to even a topic for discussion with all the other silliness being discussed, but it doesn't. And if managers truly believe that an incoming reliever is going to take a few pitches to adjust to the "new" mound that's maybe a shade different from the one in the pen, well then that's just something he's going to have to consider when he makes a change. At worst, this beats the hell out of the three-batter minimum requirement. Rules that dictate strategy are bad rules. 3) Die mound conferences, Die! Think about it: if you were designing the sport today no one would permit the game to be stopped while a fat old man waddles out to the mound as often as he wants to talk to players who already know how to play the game. And even with the current limits -- five per team per game -- there's effectively no limit at all considering the exemptions allowed. One of the NYPost writers (I forget which one) has been floating the idea for years about a fixed number of 'time-outs' per game, they can be used for mound conferences OR for replay challenges (you use more of one then you get fewer of the other) but once they're gone, they're gone. If nothing else, this would favor the more prepared team. You brought that pitcher in now stick with him or remove him, those are your choices. Giving him a verbal spanking or a verbal pep talk shouldn't be options.

I personally think he brought up Elvis just to get the Elvis in excelsis line in, and if he did it was totally worth it.

Grand Slam, tough pitch, off Scherzer, first ML hit, second ML AB, second ML game, 28 y/o career minor leaguer. And mostly a minor league Yanqui (they drafted, purchased, and/or re-signed him three different times, but also released him thrice) so mostly DH so not many minor lg ABs. Also a local kid so quite possibly friends/family in the stands ... and yet he seemed reasonably calm about the whole thing.

As always, all these problems that seven inning games and curtailing XI games are meant to fix stem from the fact that 3-1/2 hour games are considerably more common than 2-1/2 games. Fix that issue and so many of the other ones go away.

The DH on Saturday is being described as a "traditional" DH which I assume means one admission although there's certainly nothing traditional about two seven inning games.

Former LAD Dave Stewart doesn't think the team has gone far enough so he is boycotting the planned 40 year celebration of the 1981 championship.

The "Administrative Leave" for Bauer has been extended from the initial seven days to an additional seven days.

The thing about the Yanqui announcers is that, because the team has reached the vaccinated requirement, they ARE allowed to travel with the club but, so far, the corporate suits that control them haven't given the go-ahead. Money is thought to be reason for keeping them locked in the Bronx but of course no one will say that. GKR, plus Howie & Wayne, don't have that same option because NYM vax are lagging behind (and Luis is at the moment unwilling to hog-tie the stragglers and vaccinate them himself).

With all due respect, I think you've missed every point I've made.

=Gwreck post_id=70660 time=1625757573 user_id=56] They would have just played 9 innings starting at 1:10 and 9 innings staring at 7:10.

=Gwreck post_id=70646 time=1625754338 user_id=56] I think you missed the point. The issue is not that split doubleheaders exist. The problem is the length. Both games should be scheduled for 9 innings.

Mike Vaccaro coming in hot (and accurately) that 7 inning split doubleheaders must be immediately stopped: https://nypost.com/2021/07/07/rob-manfreds-split-doubleheaders-are-stealing-from-baseball-fans/amp/?__twitter_impression=truehttps://nypost.com/2021/07/07/rob-manfreds-split-doubleheaders-are-stealing-from-baseball-fans/amp/?__twitter_impression=true Gary addressed this early on during Game 1 Apparently the official reasoning given was that the weather looked more iffy as the day/night went on so a single admission late-starting DH would make it less likely to get in both games, and that an early-starting single-admission DH would be unfair to the people who bought tickets in advance planning for a 7:10 Wednesday night first pitch. So Vaccaro's idea of Manfred simply banning split-admission 7-inning DH's would inevitably run up against the 'but we need an exception in this case' scenario which in turn would lead to teams conjuring up any excuse -- future weather, future travel, etc. -- to make an end run around the rule. It's like at one point during the Selig era where minimum distance standards to OF walls were adopted for any future stadium builds ... and then MLB promptly went about granting exemptions to any and all teams that requested a waiver: hence Cincy, Houston, YSII, etc.

Pirates are in last place NLC and are on a pace to lose 102 games. Even the rapidly plummeting Cubs, losers of 11 straight, are still closer to 1st place than they are to Pitt. On the other hand they just took 2 of 3 from the Braves holding them to 1 run in each of the first two ... before getting blown out 14-3 last night Right-hander JT (Jonathan Trey) Brubaker, a 6th round pick in 2015 out of Univ of Akron (so he knows where the rubber meets the road), is a 2nd year player with 26 games/24 starts under his belt [5-11; 4.40 ERA; 1.22 WHIP]. In the movie version of his life Brubaker, who has described being drafted by the Buccos as 'One man against a cruel system', will be played by Robert Redford. [FIMG=300]https://flxt.tmsimg.com/assets/p85_p_v10_aa.jpg[/FIMG] The fact that Redford--who has been known to take roles not appropriate to his age in the past--is blond, left-handed, and now in his 80s, won't be considered a deterrent.

More than 1/5 of our games so far (18 of 83 = 21.7%) have been scheduled for 7 innings. That overall percentage might go down as the season wears on but probably not by a lot; I believe we have opening week Covid makeups still to play. Couple that with the virtual elimination of extra innings* and MLB has now managed to achieve the goal of MLB haters everywhere: Less Baseball! I wonder if Ford or Kelloggs execs are sitting around wondering: 'We need to figure out a way to sell fewer cars/cereals' * we've played nine extras in slightly over a half-season. This compares to 43 in 2019

Yup. Clutch comebacks vs top-notch starters and shut-down closers only to follow that up with non-competative showings vs reclamation openers and no-name bull-penners.

Two very lackluster game twos in DHs this week with sweeps on the table in both.

So JdG isn't going to the ASG anyway even though not starting on Sunday. And while you can understand that, it's still a shame on a certain level because the two coolest match-ups to see would have been: 1) deGrom pitching to Ohtani and 2) Ohtani pitching to deGrom

You just knew Pete was going to chase one of those high hard ones. It was just a question of whether Boxburger could get one high enough.

How about this rule change: if a team calls time in order to have a mound conference, then ALL activity has to cease for the length of the T.O., included the pitchers throwing in the pen. This would at least eliminate the situation where the game is being stalled for the sole purpose of stalling the game.

I'll take an RBI hit with a box of burgers to go please.

Stock, kind of stocky. And already better than deGrom!!

Not exactly sterling numbers, but now half of his hits this season (13 of 26) have gone for XB (6 HR, 7 2B) and a bunch of them have been big. Still just 27 y/o, in his 5th org and 4th ML team, sometimes those starter-to-bench guys make the best irregular players. That's a tougher role, I think, for younger guys still trying to fight their way up the ladder.

Hey friend, do it again. Ballantine Ballantine Beer! OK, that was an old MFY broadcast jingle, but for some reason it just popped into my head as I started to type and it sort of works here. We're going to see lefty Brett Anderson in the Cub Scout unis, a guy who we were supposed to see Tuesday night and then thought we'd see Wednesday afternoon. And the Mets will pitch someone ... at least I hope they will.