Frayed Knot

I expect some really good outings, and also ...

I'm not sure what Tebow has done to promote 'his brand' other than live his life. He's on TV as an announcer during college football season and probably "wrote" a book or two. BFD. Keith and Ron do at least as much to promote theirs and, unlike Kardashians, none of it involves naked selfies (at least as far as I know) or updates on what they're selling or who they're fucking and/or pregnant by this week. Look, I have zero interest in college football so have no personal interest in whether Tebow is revered or hated. I essentially don't have an opinion of him because I never watched him play (except for a handful of his pro games) and have never seen him on the myriad of hype shows that lead into each week's slate of TV games. But it isn't HIS fault that large numbers of mostly southern men measure their self-worth based on the outcomes of football games involving supposed amateurs connected to a college that they may or may not have once attended. It also isn't his doing that the networks which cover (read: promote) that sport take it upon themselves to God-up a couple of teenagers every year and that he was one of the few who didn't ultimately crash and burn well short of their pronouncements. Nor was he responsible for ESPN telling the producers of each of their radio/TV shows that 'there's no such thing as too much Tebow talk' for something like three years after his football career had ended. And I also somehow doubt that he forced Florida (or was it Fla St?) to erect a statue of him just shortly after he was legally old enough to abstain from drinking. btw, MOST minor leaguers aren't 'prospects', and neither are the guys they're hitting/pitching against.

It's why I rarely watch sequels. If I didn't like the original then I have no interest in seeing the story continued. And if I did like it then I don't want a sequel to diminish the original. I also tend not to get all that excited at remakes for similar reasons. There are exceptions to both but not a lot. In another thread a few of us were discussing recent Taylor Sheridan films. The consensus seemed to be that HELL OR HIGH WATER was terrific, WIND RIVER less so but still good, and SICARIO a messy disappointment. So naturally [u:7o4mqauu]SICARIO 2[/u:7o4mqauu] is the one coming to a theatre near you.

Centerfield wrote: We got two breaks in that grand slam inning. One was the Cespedes checkswing. It looked like he did not go, but lazy umps have been calling that strike 3 for the past few years. Very fortunate there. We were even more fortunate on the 2-2 pitch to Bruce right before the GS. That was a strike. I feel like the pitcher thought so too, and felt like he had to get a lot of plate to make sure he didn't walk in a run. All of those pitches were borderline -- the Trea Turner strikeout too -- and certainly could have gone either way. And when there are multiple coin-flips you don't figure to win all of them. But, breaks or no breaks, how does Dave Martinez not have one (or more) of his Four LHRs ready for Bruce when a single in that situation breaks the game open and the worst case scenario essentially puts it away?!? 110 points of OPS lower for his career when facing L as opposed to R. And while Kintzler was one of their big relief acquisitions last year and a guy they're counting on, he's also the guy who just loaded the bases. This is where the old saying about making your own breaks comes into play.

This is his make or break year. Some are outraged at what they see as undeserved promotions, but you can't play the long game with a "prospect" his age so the half-year jumps make sense at this point to see if he'll sink or swim. I'm betting on sink but rooting for swim. It would be kind of cool to see him get a mid-year jump to AAA and then to the big leagues for September, even if it only amounts to a few ABs. But absent a steep learning curve starting real soon, I think this is his last year of baseball. It'll likely be enough for the Mets to say they gave him a shot, and it'll be enough for him to be able to say he gave it a shot. Then everyone walks away happy on no one got hurt.

2/5 with another HR for Ohtani today (Wed). Now 6/14 with the 2 HRs and just 3 strikeouts. Plus there's that whole pitching win thing. And to think that he spring was so unimpressive that there was talk of starting him off in the minors.

Conforto to be activated for Thursday. Evans to be optioned. Hey, an injury that ran shorter than anticipated. What a concept!!

Benjamin Grimm wrote: That means I might be able to listen to the last couple of innings during my drive home from work. Or just prior to going to bed at this pace.

This game is going to: a) end around midnight require at least 5 relievers per team

Hard to believe that we went through the entire winter and the only in-division team we didn't create a 2018 thread for was the Natinals (as they once spelled it on a couple of uniforms) but that's probably because they didn't really change much over the off-season so most of the same cast of characters will try to see if THIS is the year they can not only win the NL East but also get past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since moving to the nation's capital. -- the infield is pretty much the same: Zimmerman at 1st, Howie Kendrick at 2nd, Trea Turner at SS, Anthony Rendon at 3rd, and Matt Weiters behind the plate. Although Weiters went on the DL after just two games and, seeing as how we stole their longtime backup Jose Lobaton from them, former DBack/Cub Miguel Montero looks to get the bulk of the reps for now. -- Gone from the OF is Jayson Werth who was the Nats' first big FA signing. The deal was considered a severe overpay at the time although they got reasonable use out of him until close to the end of the deal which was 2017. Werth has yet to find a job anywhere else and, at this point, doubt he ever will; I'm not even sure if he was looking very hard. Last I heard he was involved in some sort of organic farming project. No, really! But back is Adam Eaton who they signed last year but who collapsed while crossing 1st base in a game vs the Mets in late April and missed the entire season. This year he moves to LF while manning CF (where Eaton was signed to play) is a sort of a three-headed monster of young-ish OFs Michael Taylor, Brian Goodwin, Wilmer Difo. None are really all that young anymore (27, 27, 26) and, while all have some ML time under their belts, only Taylor has ever been anything close to a full-timer getting 300+ ABs in a season twice before (2015, 2017). So far this year the Nats are 4-2 (and, HEY, we're 4-1 !!!): 3-0 vs Cincy but then lost 2 of 3 to the Braves including Atlanta bats knocking Scherzer around a bit Wednesday afternoon: 5 IP, 5 runs (tho just 2 earned) on 6 hits. Mainly they've been scoring a lot early so far. Their 1st inning ABs have produced: 1, 3, 2, 2, 3 runs until getting blanked in the opening frame today. Eaton has been hitting [.500 w/4 XBHs in his 9 knocks] as has Harper [.400 w/4 HRs] and Howie Kendrick Thursday 1:00 (SNY, MASN, and maybe MLBN depending on your location) -- deGrom vs Steven Strasburg. One start for Strasburg: 6.1, 3 runs (1 ER) on 8 hits, 6 K Weather expected to be decent ** Off Day Friday ** Our second consecutive, but final, blank Friday of the year. Saturday 1:00 (SNY, MASN) -- Matz vs Gio Gonzalez [6.0 IP, 1 R, 6 H, 7 K] Weather expected to suck Sunday 8:00 (ESPN) -- Harvey vs Tanner Roark [7 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 6 K] Weather (and announcers) expected to suck

There are to be 25 such 'Facebook' games this year. That's 50 teams involved total or between 1 and 2 for each team (assuming more or less even distribution which may or may not be the case). So the good news here is that we're getting one of ours, and maybe the only one, off the table early.

* In those of those 'first time in MLB ever' deals which baseball somehow doesn't seem to run out of despite its near 150 year history, the StL/Milw game Tuesday night was the first to begin the game with back-to-back HRs and to end the game with back-to-back HRs. Dexter Fowler and Tommy Pham led off the top of the 1st by hitting 2 of the game's first three pitches out of the park. But then, down by one in the home 9th, Christian Yelich and Ryan Braun hit one-out HRs on consecutive pitches for a Brewers walk-off win. * Clayton Kershaw now 0-2 to start the year after finishing ST with a 0.00 ERA. Now he's given up all of 2 runs over 12 innings in 2 starts so I think it's probably a bit too early for the Dodgers to hit the panic button. * Guess who heard some boo-birds after going 0-5 w/5 Ks in his home opener? Give you a clue, his name rhymes with Biandarlo Manton Quick word on 'TWiB Notes': not to try and put too many rules on this, but I envision this as sort of a replacement for O-o-T-S which was overdone if used everyday but would also go weeks between appearances. So hopefully we can use this at least on a weekly basis (Monday thru Sunday) as a place to comment on in-game goings-on elsewhere in the league.

Ohtani = 3-for-4 including a 3R HR in his second game as DH It could have been a GS but for the wild pitch that moved all the runners up earlier in the AB And, yes, his teammates gave him the silent treatment on his return to the dugout. Now 4-9 thus far in the young season w/2 Ks to go with the HR He did not hit on the day he pitched.

I think I'm just going to skip this one - and by 'skip' I mean check up on it via the gameday thing on MLB.com But I've got stuff to do tomorrow and don't really feel like figuring out if/how to make the 'Facebook Live' thing work just so I can view parts of it while I'm not otherwise busy on a small screen. I'll be back for Thursday day tilt that will be the Nationals home opener featuring deGrom vs Strasburg

Fman99 wrote: Do you let Lugo pitch the last nine outs? They did double switch him in... I'd go a 3rd inning with him (6 outs on 22 pitches).

On the flip side of pitcher usage tonight, AJ Cole for the Nationals in Atlanta, after being spotted a 3-0 lead, coughed up 4 in the 1st, 4 more in the 2nd, and 1 each in the 3rd & 4th (Braves still batting in the 4th). As I type he's given up 10 ER on 10 hits plus 3 BBs (4 K) ... and now has just been pulled from the game w/2 outs in the 4th. Talk about your slow hooks!

[youtube:2s13ovia]q7tBMnQEzZI[/youtube:2s13ovia] -- it's running as a commercial on MLB.tv (and maybe also on MLBN)

Zvon wrote: WTF does that mean. "WTF? What the fuck does that even mean?!?" --- Gary King

Lefty Specialist wrote: With the snow we had yesterday added to the feline and canines coming down today, I'd be really surprised if the field was playable this evening. It sure looks wet and cold in the Bronx and that game should be ending right around the time ours is beginning. On the other hand, CitiField is likely to be warmer on account of it being further south. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. P.S. If you bring back a ball heading over the fence right around the 314 ft sign (as Tampa's Carlos Gomez just did to MFY Tyler Wade) should the fielder still get credit for a robbed HR? I was thinking that maybe it should count for only a stolen double or something, y'know, kinda like the too-small fish that you're required to throw back.

And, btw, that bunt led to the Pirates loading the bases in that inning. Now it was a 7-0 game at the time and ultimately ended that way so it's not like the game was in imminent danger of getting away from the Twins, but if you're Pitt the only way you even have a prayer of getting back in the game is to get baserunners, and that's what they did. It's like the old line from the manager of a running team about not stealing in games when you're either up or down so many runs. 'Hey, my runners will stop running just as soon as your HR-hitters stop trying to hit HRs'

Rain most of the day Tuesday, high of 45 Warmer but just as wet on Wednesday. Good thing this series comes against a division opponent with plenty of make-up chances.

And that 3R job turned out to be the only runs he gave up on the day. And he got the win.

Zvon wrote: #worstUMPever? Not as long as Angel Hernandez continues to draw both breath and a paycheck.

3R HR in his 2nd inning of work. And, no, he's not in the lineup on the occasion of his first ever MLB start (Pujols is DH'ing). I don't believe he hit on his pitching days in Japan either, or even in the day or two prior to his pitching days.

The only thing I'll say in Matz's favor today is that at least he wasn't all over the place. He was missing high but, for the most part, those pitches were justbarely missing and a bunch of calls (for both sides) could have gone the other way with a different HP ump. The difference between Saturday's BIG strike zone and CB Bucknor's small one today was, pardon the pun, striking. And of course that led to the longer innings and the high pitch count and the quick hook and blah, blah, blah. So, no, he wasn't good, but he at least wasn't awful so that's ... I dunno, something.