Frayed Knot

Gary's unavailability, being knee-deep in calling college hoops these days, probably cuts into which games are TV-ised.

In the spirit of 'Hey Nineteen', Dilson is a fine Colombian.

The NY Giants wound up trading '51 play-in hero Bobby Thompson to Milwaukee after the 1953 season (in a package deal for, mainly, pitcher Johnny Antonelli). But Thompson broke his ankle on a slide in a ST game forcing the Braves to alter their plans for LF and call up some rookie named Henry Aaron. Thompson returned in July as a pinch-hitter although didn't start to play the field again until mid-August at which point he and Aaron split time thru the end of the year. Aaron finished 4th in RoY -- behind Wally Moon, Ernie Banks, and teammate (P) Gene Conley -- while Antonelli won 21 games (3rd in MVP) for the 1954 World Champ Giants including 1 run allowed in 10.2 WS IP By the 1955 season Aaron was the full-time RF'er with Thompson in LF

Yeah, I was just thinking about how David Wright had a better 2018 than deGrom

Neither am I. If you're going to change pitchers in the middle of an inning I'd prefer just to see them done more quickly like with no (or fewer) warmups after getting on the mound. But it will cut down on dead time ... so there's that - although appearances of 3 or fewer hitters dropped from 2015 to 2018 [14.1% from 17.1% despite there being more relief appearances overall] so maybe teams were already starting to move away from the religion of L/R matchups for every AB. But other than that, the tightened (however slightly) commercial breaks are welcome, and I assume the league will have to give back some cash on the network end of things so this at least shows that they're not totally averse to such things. I love that they didn't declare 'MISSION ACCOMPLISHED' with the six mound visit limit last year and quickly dropped it even further after there were no fatalities as a result. Kind of indifferent to the ASG and trade deadline changes. OK with the 26 man roster but LOVE the 28-man limit in September.

A JD Davis G-R-2B plates Jeff McNeil in top 8 and it's 1-1 heading for the 9th

Starting in 2019 (that's like, now!): - Between inning breaks drop to 2:00, down from 2:05 in local telecasts (BFD!) but, more significantly, also down to 2:00 from 2:25 during network games (which I assume means ESPN SNB, and FOX Saturday games) No word on post-season games so I'ma just gonna assume that they'll stay at their current (interminable) 2:55/per - Mound visits are dropping from six to five with the same stipulations as last year. Prior to 2018 they were capped at 60 per/game unless Jorge Posada was catching in which case triple digits were needed - There will one and only one trade deadline: July 31st!!!! So while roster claims can still be made there will be no such thing as August waiver deals. - Various changes to ASG voting (which doesn't really interest me a whole lot). Basically there'll be two rounds: one to cut down to three per position (or 9 for OFs) and then a second round to determine the starter Also ASG extra innings will begin with the runner on 2nd base gimmick. And they're upping the HR Derby prize money, hoping to discourage "name" sluggers from skipping it a la the NBA dunk contest For 2020: - Regular season roster sizes increase to 26 with a likely cap of 13 designated as pitchers. Then in September the limits will be 28/14 So no more NFL-sized benches during the pennant race - Pitchers will need to face a minimum of three batters and/or complete a half-inning. And the DL/IL time for pitchers will be upped to 15 games rather than 10 so as to discourage roster manipulation [ex: be put on the IL with no actual injury just to skip a start] So, if nothing else, at least the two sides are talking and are getting some of the minor points taken care of in advance of dealing with the big issues between now and the end of the 2021 season

[quote="Vic Sage" post_id=4202 time=1552418058 user_id=93] [u]2018 Mets:[/u] 19. Dr.Smith [/quote] Ahead of Will Robinson? ... No fuckin' way!!

Block or Charge? Depends on whether the runner or fielder was the one named LeBron

The highlight of the game appears to be Josh Reddick attempting to beat out a bunt. The play was going to be close and the throw took Alonso into the baseline causing Reddick to run straight into him. Reddick was knocked backwards and down with his helmet going airborne in the other direction. Alonso barely budged. Reddick's listed at 6' 2" 195 which is pretty big for man-on-the-street size. But even with that he's giving away a half-a-hundred pounds to the 1st baseman.

So whoever had March 11th in the 'Initial Season Ending Injury' poll, please come by the office to collect your winnings.

Yeah, I know, we should have done this four months ago. But it got put off for one reason or another and I kept forgetting ... although it's not like any of you folks bailed me out on it either. But now it's time to take one last fleeting glimpse of the year that just was, and the good thing is that this one won't get dragged out. With Opening Day two weeks from Thursday I'm declaring [u]an end to this project on that Wednesday night[/u], so if you want to contribute you'll have to do it soon. You know the drill: 30 players ranked from highest to lowest for their positive (or lack thereof) contributions to the 2018 NYM season from the (bigger than usual) cast of characters listed below: [u]Hitters[/u] (in order of PA) Michael Conforto - Amed Rosario - Brandon Nimmo - Todd Frazier - Wilmer Flores Asdrubal Cabrera - Jay Bruce - Jose Bautista - Kevin Plawecki - Jose Reyes Jeff McNeil - Devin Mesoraco - Austin Jackson - Adrian Gonzalez - Yoenis Cespedes Dom Smith - Tomas Nido - Luis Guillorme - Juan Lagares - Jose Lobaton Jack Reinheimer - Phillip Evans - Matt den Dekker - Travis d'Arnaud - Ty Kelly Kevin Kaczmarski - David Wright [u]Pitchers[/u] (by IP) Jacob deGrom - Zack Wheeler - Noah Syndergaard - Steven Matz - Seth Lugo Jason Vargas - Robert Gsellman - Corey Oswalt - Paul Sewald - Jerry Blevins Jeurys Familia - Jacob Rhame - Tylor Bashlor - Drew Smith - Tim Peterson Matt Harvey - Anthony Swarzak - AJ Ramos - Hansel Robles - Drew Gagnon Chris Beck - Daniel Zamora - PJ Conlon - Chris Flexen - Bobby Wahl Gerson Bautista - Buddy Baumann - Eric Hanhold - Scott Copeland

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Might have been 11-1 but for Tebow getting thrown out at home and later, Tebow not scoring on a hit from 2nd. What the fuck was he doing on base multiple times?!?

The Vladdy Jr. "conundrum" has been solved -- mainly by his pulled oblique which will keep him out for the next three weeks and, I suspect, might just be severe enough to keep him out until right about two weeks into the regular season. Of course that was going to happen anyway but at least now the Blue Jays won't look petty for doing so.

Reliever Drew Smith returning to New York to have his "sore right elbow" checked out.

Except that they are, based on what I read, going to continue to measure the 90' line as they always have: back point of the plate to the far corner of 1st base (the northeast one, if you will, from the HP's pov). So the front edge of 1B will be 3 inches closer to home and, yes, this also makes the 'western' edge of 1B 3 inches closer to 2nd, possibly leading to an increase in SB attempts and successes more so than for infield singles.

So what's going to be used on an experimental/trial basis in the Atlantic League this season? Glad you asked: - the 'Trackman' computer system for calling balls and strikes - a super-sized 1st base, an 18 inch square rather than 15, which will have the effect of shortening the distance from home to 1st by three inches (the 90 ft baselines are measured from back point of plate to far side of the base) - an increase of two feet between the plate and mound, to take effect for the second half of the AL season - restricted infield shifts: two infielders must be on each side of 2nd base - each pitcher must face at least three batters or complete the half-inning - NO mound visits except for medical issues and pitching changes - between inning breaks reduced from 2:05 to 1:45 Some of these I like better than others. But I really like that they're experimenting with various proposals so as to get some idea of if and how they work. I guess the over-sized 1B is a safety issue to avoid tangled/spiked feet (they're apparently NOT doing the same for either 2nd or 3rd) one which will could have the net effect of a few extra infield hits Not sure that I'd want ZERO mound visits in MLB. but six/per worked just fine last year despite predictions of doom and gloom and I could certainly live with fewer still The mound length adjustment is the most radical. I assume the idea is to counteract modern day fastball velocity. I'd rather shifts be encouraged in the minors/independents so hitters can learn to work around them rather than just assume they'll be able to pull their way into .300 BA for their entire careers Would prefer to see mid-inning warmup pitches eliminated (it puzzles me why this never even seems to be brought up as an option) or at least reduced (I don't think 'THOU SAHLT HAVE EIGHT' was chiseled into a stone tablet anywhere) than the three-minimum rule, but we'll see how it goes Shorter inning breaks are easy to do when the games aren't televised and contracts aren't made with certain length breaks in mind

Oh good, a comic book superhero movie! It's must be multiple weeks since the last release of one of those.

Tough business. So much for: oh well, it's TJS ... but at least he's a position player

That original Lucy statue was later donated to the Nurse Ratched HoF and Museum I say that as long as the Seaver monument doesn't have a 'Gold's Mustard' or some other such nonsense on its base, it'll wind up being both a relief and a surprise.

Know What's Cool? Cargo shorts?

=whippoorwill post_id=4022 time=1552076745 user_id=79]... the complete games that were pitched in the 80's were incredible. They were expected, even that recently, to finish a game unless it was a bad start. Now I think I understand why I really don't have much patience for baseball anymore.

Edgy MD wrote: The other nicknames listed for James Francis "Pud" Galvin are "Gentle Jeems" and "The Little Steam Engine." With a primo nickname like 'Pud', what's even the point of alternatives?

Hoe! Lee! Shit! Not only is it not possible to do what this guy did, but it's not possible to want to do what he did. But he did it anyway. Winner of Best Documentary for 2018

ST stats only matter when they're positive: Dom Smith's spring = a quite meaningful sign of things to come; Nimmo's = totally unimportant small sample I thought we were all clear on this?