Frayed Knot

Re: our talk a week or two back about how the Braves went virtually injury-free this year, they wound up losing SS Dansby Swanson to a hand injury in the closing days of the season making him out for this round at least and I think they may be paying the price on defense in this series v the Dodgers. There have been a couple of shots to get past fill-in Charlie Culberson (who's more an infielder playing short than he is a true SS) including a big 2-Out/2-RBI hit just now to put the Dodgers back on top.

They see what they want to see.

Centerfield wrote: Derek Jeter tracked a ball that was hit to his right, caught the ball in fair territory, took two steps, then jumped into the stands. He was a bit shaken up, but returned to the game. Few, if any, comments from network announcers drive me more bonkers than watching a player actually dive into the stands for a catch and saying "just like Jeter" No. It. Isn't.

Centerfield wrote: ... certainly in my generation (and generations before) if you come from a small town, you had no choice but to root for a bandwagon team. I grew up in Syracuse and the surrounding area. Everyone watched and loved Syracuse University basketball and to a lesser extent, football. These were our only local teams. Which is why I mentioned locality, as well as actually attending the college, as a legit reason for being a fan. It's the others I'm calling bullshit on. I still find non-students/alums treating the local college team as an equivalent to a pro team to be an oddity, but I understand that it's a bias from having grown up outside of NYC rather than outside of Syracuse, Columbus, Louisville, Tuscaloosa, etc. College sports would be much better if they stayed more confined to the colleges but that horse left the barn a long time ago.

My biggest suspicious involves peeps with no connection to a college -- either as an alumnus or via locality -- who are "fans" of that college's sports teams. Just admit that you latched onto them because they win all the time and would change your 'loyalty' in a heartbeat if and when that program (why is it a 'program' and never just a team?) takes a turn for the worse. Actual radio caller I heard a bunch of years back in a Brooklyn accent so stereotyped that it seemed made up: Yo Mike & Dawg, how do ya t'ink my Soonahs are gonna do dis year? Yeah, YOUR Sooners. It's obvious from your voice that you're not from Oklahoma. I'm just as positive that you didn't attend U of Oklahoma, are quite unlikely to have ever been to the state of Oklahoma, and are no better than even money to be able to spell Oklahoma . And yet you claim them as yours. Couldn't have anything to do with the fact that they were on TV many Saturdays during the '70s and '80s (when far fewer games overall were televised) which gave you the ability to walk around with your chest puffed out 8 weekends out of 10 crowing about how 'your' team won, now could it? Grow the fuck up!

I've most often heard it pronounced (more or less) as Ning. I believe it's Vietnamese in origin.

Well there'll be one Game Four in the NLDS anyway as the Braves survive Sunday night vs the Dodgers. Braves jumped out to a 5-0 lead on a Ronald Acuna 2nd inning Grand Slam, but blew the whole thing and needed 7 pitchers to secure the victory. A Freddie solo shot in the 6th was la difference. Braves had 4 hits on the night and the Dodgers left runners on 2nd & 3rd in the 9th. Fun stuff.

Marty Pattin was a Seattle Pilot and therefore part of BALL FOUR - also with the Angels, Brewers (nee Pilots), BoSox, and with those great Royals teams of the mid-'70s Was known in the clubhouse and team bus trips (IIRC) for his X-rated Donald Duck impression.

Yeah, that wasn't good. So, instead, let's talk about how the story is already forming to portray Judge as this generation's Jeter (he's clutch, he's a true Yanqui) while Stanton is being cast in the part of Alex Rodriguez, the out-of-town import with the big contract whom they could really do without.

And now the fourth Yanqui grounder in a GiDP situation in a 16 inning span that was hit too shitty to become a GiDP. That Nunez fucked up the throw merely compounds the problem. oe: I can't believe they overturned that call!! No way was that definitive evidence.

Did you see/hear Gary Sanchez's career numbers off Price? 6 for 13 plus 4 walks and [u:39kkb1d5]5 of the 6 hits were HRs[/u:39kkb1d5]!! And so tonight's HR [now 7-fer-14 w/6 HR] was perhaps the most predictable play of the entire 2018 season

'Stros go up two games to love. seriously, I just used a racist word when I really meant "Guardians" had a 1-0 lead on a 3rd inning Francisco Lindor HR but got almost nothing else off of Gerrit Cole and a handful of relievers. Credit to Houston for having high priced fandom in their behind the plate seats. Located in a very small circle from each other were HoF'ers Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, and Nolan Ryan, plus Roy Oswalt and, never to be overlooked, Kate Upton.

Why would they want deGrom, they have David Price going tonight who's got an ERA vs the Yanx of like ... (Really?, that fucking high?) uh, never mind. Maybe after Sale & Price we can give them deGrom for a sale price.

And, because it's Yanx/Sawx [u:2kszi19h]AND[/u:2kszi19h] it's the post-season with its extended commercial time, we're now three hours deep and they've completed 6-1/2 innings

Third straight MFY grounder in a GiDP situation that was simply hit too shitty to turn. Two of those would have ended innings but resulted in a run instead.

Centerfield wrote: This pen sucks. I warned ya!!

A few too many pitches early on for Sale, but a quick inning in the 5th has him down to only somewhat above where you'd like to see it (83 thru 5)

Hey, his no-hitter lasted through an entire batter and his shutout for two more after that.

Have the Yanquis ever NOT thought the opposing runner left early? It seems to me that they always appeal the play when an opposing runner tags and then expect the call to go their way each time. 5-0 BRS after 3. Happ lasted 2-1/3 and was charged with all five earned.

[u:2sbkouxm]Game 1[/u:2sbkouxm]: JA not so Happ(y) after a 1st inning 3R HR by JD Martinez 3-0 Sox, mid-3rd One hit thru 3 from Sale

Game 1: 4-0 Astros, bottom 5th Verlander vs Kluber 3 HRs for Houston (Bregman, Springer, Altuve) vs zero hits so far for Cleveland As I said in the prediction/rooting thread: I don't trust Boston to take care of things. I've never had less confidence in a 108 win team and I think it's more than just a case of expecting the worst: -- Sale isn't right; Price melts whenever he sees pinstripes; weak at catcher and middle relief, etc. They've got great stars in Beantown but the Yanx out-depth them in several areas. Bottom line: Very little KAHNfidence so I definitely want Houston sitting around waiting if/when [the Yanx] advance.

Centerfield wrote: seawolf17 wrote: bmfc1 wrote: I wonder if MFY management is trying to track down the dope that dumped the beer on the guy. They'll probably retire his number. Hey, did anyone see a loud obnoxious douchebag sitting in this area on Wednesday? That's like asking someone on a street in Oslo if they've seen any blondes walk by.

Centerfield wrote: The thing is, if I knew the MFY's were out, I'd root for Cleveland ... But if the MFY's advance, I'd definitely want Houston to be there waiting for them. This. Especially since I don't trust Boston to take care of things. I've never had less confidence in a 108 win team and I think it's more than just a case of expecting the worst: -- Sale isn't right; Price melts whenever he sees pinstripes; weak at catcher and middle relief, etc. They've got great stars in Beantown but the Yanx out-depth them in several areas. Bottom line: Very little KAHNfidence so I definitely want Houston sitting around waiting if/when they advance.

And, once again, the LF/RF umpires prove to be useless. Seems like there have been a numerous calls in recent years where the extra umps, the ones out there to rule solely on fair/foul calls, have gotten them wrong. This time at least a potential game-changing hit was reversed on replay. In most of the previous occasions those calls stay miscalled and usually in favor of the Yanx.

Despite Yelich being (thus far) the hero of the game, teammate Ryan Braun is pissed at him. Twice Braun has hit hard line-drives with Yelich on base only to have Yelich initially mis-read them. Once it cost Braun a hit (Yelich forced at 2nd) and once it cost him an RBI (held at 3rd)