Frayed Knot

Edgy MD wrote: Jennifer Frey, outstanding beat writer for the Mets in the early nineties, passes away at 47. I suspect you were alerted to this story via the just-published Deadspin article, but Frey's death occurred back in March.

Game 3 - 8:08 first pitch Weather: 63 and cloudy expected for game time First World Series game at Wrigley Field since October 10, 1945. Tigers 9 - Cubs 3 http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN194510100.shtml HoF'er Hal Newhouse went all the way for Detroit (despite giving up 10 hits) after his Tigers scored 5 in the top of the 1st. And talk about your quick hooks ... Cubs starter Hank Bowory lasted just three hitters in that game (Single - Single - Single) but his relievers obviously didn't do him or Chicago manager Charlier Grimm any favors. And check out this strategy: the first batter for the Tigers after the opening three hits and pitching change is slugger and future HoF Hank Greenberg [no outs - one run in - runners on 1st & 2nd] AND HE SAC BUNTS!! It damn near killed the inning as an IW to load the bases was followed by a pop-out for out #2. But then a 2-out bases-loaded walk and a bases-clearing double broke things open. Big news going into tonight is that DH Kyle Schwarber has not been medically cleared to play the field so he will be reduced to PH appearances while the series is in the NL park. In other DH news, the Indians will put their DH/1B/C Carlos Santana out in LF, a position he's played just once in his entire career - four four innings back in 2012. oe: the youngest person I could find on that 1945 Cubs team was then 24 y/o Andy Pafko. He died just over three years ago at the age of 92 which leads one to strongly suspect that no one who appeared in that game for either team is alive today.

Ceetar wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: And just to show how quickly these things can escalate, I saw a NYM-related blog in the last day or so (and now can't remember where) which, obviously working off that original Rays piece (not to be confused with a slice from 'Original Ray's'), said that the Mets 'were in discussions with' (or wording along those lines) the Rays involving a trade for Drew Smyly and the two players involved. That was Mets Blog actually, calling it Rays fan and FanSided author Althea Pashman says there is talk in Tampa that the Mets and Yankees may have interest in trading for left-handed starting pitcher Drew Smyly. No, this one was some site I wasn't familiar with but stumbled upon somehow and it specifically said, though citing no source, that there are ongoing talks involving those teams and those players. Now obviously that doesn't make it true as it's just an example of someone who had read the original piece (maybe via the FOX reprint) and then added in their own details as if unable to distinguish made-up wish list from fact, but that's the way rumors go.

And just to show how quickly these things can escalate, I saw a NYM-related blog in the last day or so (and now can't remember where) which, obviously working off that original Rays piece (not to be confused with a slice from 'Original Ray's'), said that the Mets 'were in discussions with' (or wording along those lines) the Rays involving a trade for Drew Smyly and the two players involved.

So much for possibly getting a game in before 10PM. Too many pitches and too many long innings early on. I had forgotten about the 'no partial games' edict in post-season. So even if Chicago were to blow this game open even further, if the rain should come they'd still need to finish it. They'd either have to wait for hours tonight hoping for 'a window' (and we know how well those work sometimes). Or they'd have to come back tomorrow just to play the final inning or two (although the weather doesn't look good then either). Or they'd have to tack it on to the beginning of Game 3 in Chicago on Friday (which would be kind of weird).

Amazing how many two-out baserunners the Cleveland pitchers have given up tonight. Every time it seems like they're going to have a quick 'n easy inning they start giving up walks and hits after starting 2-outs and bases-empty.

The seriously, I just used a racist word when I really meant "Guardians" have paid so far by having infielder Lonnie Chisenhall out in the OF tonight. He misplayed that one in the corner in the top of the 5th which allowed a run to score and they probably have a play at home when the Cubs scored the first run of the game had Chisenhall hit the cut-off man rather than gunning it directly to 2nd base. Not that those plays are the difference in the game, but they're something. Chisenhall, as per our discussion on another thread, is one of those guys who was drafted as a SS, moved to 3rd after a year or so, and has now been pushed to the OF due to the emergance of other players.

Game 2 tonight (for those of you not paying attention last night) has been moved up to a 7:08 (EDT) first pitch for fear of rain later in the evening. Weather.com currently showing 'Isolated Thunderstorms' for the hours of 8 to 9 PM local time And how great would it be if we actually had a WS game that ends before 10PM? G2 starters: Jake Arrieta vs Trevor Bauer And given Bauer's 4-batter/21-pitch outing last time he tried to pitch (Game 3 ALCS v Toronto) we need to celebrate him in true CPF tradition ... with a song parody Bauer be brave, we have you scheduled to pitch tonight’s game We’ve got a game to play so we don’t understand why the blood is running down the length of your hand and you’re hiding it as best as you can Now the bullpen has to go the full nine and when we ask you how it happened you look right into the camera and then you say I’m fixing my drone now and suddenly the propeller is spinning ‘round and ‘round I’m cut by my drone now and the bleeding of my hand is all over the mound

Yeah, you def throw to 2nd there if you see it although you can't really blame Davis in CF for immediately gunning it home. If there's any blame to place it should probably go to Lindor at SS who didn't seem to realize until the very last second that Schwarber was off in never-never-land (2B Kipnis was out for the short fly and so had his back to the play while Lindor stayed in). At the very last second Lindor seems to be throwing his hands up, presumably to signal 'throw it here', but by that point Davis has practically released the ball and couldn't possibly have seen him. Not sure where Napoli was as you figure he'd be the cut-off man on that play hanging out somewhere around the mound which also could have nailed Schwarber on the old 8-3-6 play but he either wasn't there (maybe thinking that the fly was so shallow there was no need) or he also didn't see Schwarber wandering and so let the throw go through.

Well yeah, there's that too.

So maybe that 3 pitchers to get 3 outs strategy just to get through the 7th isn't working out so well tonight, eh Maddon?

Yeah, but once you learn to fake sincerity it's all gravy. I dunno, Buck rarely bothers me, but I seem to have a higher tolerance for announcers for network announcers than most fans. There are always a handful that can really get under my skin, but Buck isn't one of them.

Frayed Knot wrote: The Cubs suddenly living the high life off of Miller! And now, not so much.

The Cubs suddenly living the high life off of Miller!

MFS62 wrote: Al Rosen (Who got a cuppa' Joe) was on the 1948 Cleveland World Series Champs. Ernie Banks has passed away. But the Cubs can win one for Billy Williams. There is one remaining member of the 1948 champion Indians team still alive -- http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/robined01.shtml I haven't checked all of them, but I suspect that the 1908 Cubs have no such still-living players.

So, according to the commercial from an inning ago, one baby boomer in 30 is infected by 'Hepatitis C' Do you suppose that's mostly a remnant of long-ago drug use or from a more recent infatuation with tattoos?

metirish wrote: Ugh, SKip Bayless commercials Could be worse, it could be Skip Bayless on the telecast (although I'm betting that Skiperoo has no idea whether a baseball is pumped with air or stuffed with feathers)

I certainly don't see him (small sample size alert) as Murphy. Murph was never anything other than a hitter who had to play somewhere in the field and was also goofy enough to where you never knew when a ball was hit to him whether he'd make the smart play, the wrong play, or take a knee for a touchback. Hard to say about 'the yips' and Cecchini (if that description is even accurate in the first place), I just think the lack of elite defensive tools and instincts weeds out guys as they get to higher levels to where they can no longer cut it at the toughest spots on the field. Watching Javier Baez play 2B the last couple of weeks, for example, and you see stuff that a Murphy or say Flores just couldn't do because they'll probably have the correct first instinct on a non-routine play 60% of the time instead of 90% which in turn makes them less likely to get an out on the play both because the choice they made in that first half-second put them in a position where they got to the ball a shade later, or on an awkward bounce, or in a position where they have to make the tougher throw, and then because they also lack the raw athleticism to pull it off. It's that kind of tiny stuff that matters less in A-Ball than at the majors and also less just about anywhere other than at SS. It's what separates the almost good from the really good in the same way that most can't play CF the way Lagares does even though he's neither the fastest CF in the league nor has the strongest arm.

these guys will probably be tendered: 1B Lucas Duda: $4.2M / $6.7M IF Wilmer Flores: $520K / $1.9M C Travis d’Arnaud: $540K / $1.7M LHP Josh Edgin: $500K / $800K I'd call Lucas a probably but I'd be pretty darn surprised if either of Flores or d'Arnaud are allowed to walk. Edgin is a probably not although, as mentioned, it's essentially minimum wage+ so maybe so, and even then you could probably bargain him down to $742,273.50 plus a reserved parking space at Port St Lucie.

More (although a less recent) evaluation of Cecchini's defense. This was from Baseball Prospectus prior to the 2016 season. ... He knows what he is doing out there and looks polished on the basic stuff. When the plays get harder, however, he struggles with the game speed. His hands and actions get loose, and the arm, which is already stretched at short, can get scattershot. It feels like he rushes through everything, and he doesn't have the physical tools to make it work. And Cecchini isn't even an average runner anymore, so he has to make more of those plays on the move or from tougher angles than most shortstops. You have to excel at many different discrete skills to play a major league shortstop. You can cover for a few “just okays,” but Cecchini is fringy in too many areas here to be an asset on the left side of the infield. The profile is much less exciting at second base, but Cecchini's ability to play multiple infield positions and hit a little bit should keep him employed in the majors for a while. What they're talking about is basically the difference between being a good amateur SS and a good professional one which is what sends most of them either to other positions or to get their real estate license as what worked for them in the lower levels just doesn't cut it in the deeper end of the pool. The good news is that, coming off of 2015 where his offense took a step forward, he then went and tacked on a second good offensive year on top of that one. And while there's certainly no guarantee that this all repeats in the majors, two consecutive 800+ (819 & 838) OPS seasons is better evidence of it than one which is where we were a year ago at this time, and so his "less exciting" profile at 2nd base becomes easier to swallow if the bat is for real.

I apparently neglected to follow up on this little project I started just as things were about to get good.

Cubs activate LF/C/DH Kyle Schwarber and he will be the starting DH in tonight's game. Schwarber had just five trips to the plate this season (0/4 plus a walk) before tearing the ACL & LCL in his knee in an outfield collision in the 2nd inning of Game #3 of the season.

A recent (Sept '16) review of Cecchini from John Sickels Two years ago, Gavin Cecchini was seen as a good-field-no-hit shortstop with excellent defensive skills but questionable hitting that might preclude a regular job. That’s changed now. He’s gotten stronger over the last two years while maintaining his strike zone judgment. Although he’s never going to be a significant power hitter or stolen base threat, he has a decent chance to hit for average with some doubles and sufficient OBP to stay in the lineup. On the other hand, Cecchini’s defense has declined. His error rate has been getting worse and although his instincts are praised, his range looks increasingly stretched at shortstop. There’s a reasonable chance he’ll wind up at second base eventually. He is still rather young at age 22 and nobody questions his work ethic or hustle. Full report: http://www.minorleagueball.com/2016/9/8/12840448/mlb-rookie-report-gavin-cecchini-ss-new-york-mets

The other thing the Cubs making this year's Series does is moves them into a tie with the Tigers for 7th place for most WS appearances with 11 -- 1906, 1907, 1908, 1910, 1918, 1929, 1932, 1935, 1938, 1945, 2016. It merely seems like that franchise has been devoid of success due to the minor fact that they hadn't been there since, as Steve Goodman once sang, 'the year we dropped the bomb on Japan'. 6HTRxAHfwPY I wonder what Keith Moreland is doing these days? They should bring him back to drop a routine fly as part of the pre-game festivities during one of the games at Wrigley.

The NATIONALS should be listed as NATIONALS/EXPOS and be shifted back to 1969 Only three franchises have not at least played in a league championship series during the last 20 years and all, oddly, are in the NL: Nats/Expos, Reds, Pirates. Every AL team has at least reached baseball's 'Final Four' during that time although the Astros did so as an NL team. The Cubs making it to the series means that the last 20 World Series have involved 20 different teams (Indians had been there in 1997 so them making it doesn't further change the count). The ten teams NOT making a WS from 1997-2016: Obviously the aforementioned Reds/Pirates/Nats, and also the Brewers, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Orioles, Twins, A's, and Mariners -- five from each league. That 27 of 30 'Final Four' rate in MLB, btw, is higher than what it is in other sports despite claims that 'parity' in sports is impossible without a hard salary cap. Only 23 (of 32) NFL teams have reached an AFC or NFC title game over that same time. And while I'm too lazy to go through the NBA records to see exactly what the numbers show there, I know that even with a couple of first-time champions in their last two seasons basketball still has had something like their last 35-40 championships swept up by the same ten teams, usually at the expense of each other while the bottom feeders for the most part stay bottom feeders.