LWFS

He did walk, like, once, right? I remember the dugout really liking that.

When this happened a few years ago with the Sawx, the commish spelled out the exact nature of the violation, and heavily implied that the next violation involving technological aid would carry grave, GRAVE consequences, didn't he? So... why on earth would one expect a slap on the wrist here? Cora installed the monitors in the dugout twice, once after Hinch pretty explicitly expressed displeasure with the move. So... wouldn't Cora's actions merit at LEAST a year of unpaid vacay here?

Probably best for all the baseball people that the Nats took the Series last year, no?

Edgy MD wrote: Tyson Ross is an interesting guy in that he's been around since 2010, has had a perfectly respectable (for the era) 4.04 ERA, and yet has never posted a winning record. In fact, his record is a stinkalicious 44-70. With starting pitcher workdays getting shorter, guys like Tyson are going to be more common — being good enough to hang on at the back end of rotations, but not so good that the manager won't give him the quickest of hooks, but good enough to keep getting his next turn. Decent pitchers are going to be retiring with worse and worse records going forward, and great ones (cough! deGrom) won't be that much above .500. Ross has always seemed to me to have great stuff, but four-inning stamina. He'd make an excellent bullpen-day workhorse.

I'll miss the https://newyork.cbslocal.com/video/4210235-todd-frazier-chimes-in-on-toms-river-wild-turkey-problem/wildlife, traffic reports, and weird little social-media interactions with local kids and community figures. It's like we're losing a local-news-team MVP.

I mean, it's not undeserved, but... yeesh. 4 top picks is MASSIVE. That's like a fine of tens-- or even hundreds-- of millions, potentially. Given that precedent... you can't suspend Cora for LESS than a season now, can you?

But, like, it's maybe the best detail! Not, like, of this story, I mean. Like, it's perhaps the best conceivable detail of almost any conceivable unfortunate situation.

As a good portion of the 2010s has been dedicated to '90s worship (see: Gen Z obsession with "Friends"), it makes sense that the next decade might turn its retrospective lens to the... next decade, right? Who better to lead the way than '00s Hotboys/current dads-and-such the Strokes, led by MLBS-in-mild-exile http://www.mtv.com/news/2579323/julian-casablancas-new-york-mets-song/Julian Casablancas, who played a sold-out NYE show at the Barclays, making news by teasing a new album and debuting a plaintive song from same, tastefully titled "Ode to the Mets." [YOUTUBE]1zgH9RSl2Cc[/YOUTUBE]

=Centerfield post_id=28962 time=1577217373 user_id=65] Meaning Betances goes from NYY to NYM (reverse) and goes from being good to being out of this world awesome? (also reverse)

Part of me-- not the best part, admittedly-- looks at this, and thinks... Pedro Feliciano in reverse. That said, it's a granite-solid, unimpeachable move. If 2 of Diaz/Familia/Betances bounce back to, like, 80 percent of previous career norms, and the rest of the bullpen gives us even league-average innings, this bullpen is significantly better than it was last year... and the realistic ceiling is much higher than that.

The "Polar Express" of holiday messaging

Maybe I'm just an Alexander the Great fanboy at heart, but I'm always curious about https://www.tsn.ca/report-san-diego-padres-sign-pitcher-pierce-johnson-out-of-japan-1.1417431dudes with talent who "find themselves" abroad. [bLOCKQUOTE]Johnson, 28, was very effective last season with Japan's Hanshin Tigers, posting a 1.38 ERA in 58.2 innings over 58 games. He went 2-3 with a 5.44 ERA in 44.2 innings pitched in two seasons for the San Francisco Giants before going overseas. Johnson was selected in the first round in 2012 by the Chicago Cubs and found his fastball in Japan by optimizing his spin rate, reports Passan. [/bLOCKQUOTE] During that dominant season, he put up 14 K/9... and 2 BB/9. Also, an old https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28360164/francisco-cervelli-reaches-one-year-deal-marlins-source-saysred-assed friend has joined the division; Cervelli will get $2M guaranteed for the upcoming baseballing time period.

Pretty good control, decent movement on the fastballs, SEXXXY hose. He'll put up far better numbers on a team that, y'know, plays defense.

Nasty little movie. Which isn't to say it's a BAD movie. I think the only thing keeping this not-quite-classic for me is that it's Ben Affleck as the husband. Like, it's about the best fit for a Ben Affleck part you could have-- he's a caddish doof of a hero who's tasked with being mostly unlikable-- and it still doesn't quite work as well as it should.

So what you're saying is... it takes careful tendin' [bow tie spins] [Ducks under crooked stick poking from offstage] [Gesticulates wildly at McHugh, who even in a down year, actually did REALLY well when pitching from the pen]

You'd be buying low, but sure. And Daniel Hudson? Did he get his hair did and shave his legs for this?

Why are so many people talking about Dellin Betances as the last gal at the Bullpen Improvements Dance, when Will Harris is, like, right there by the punch bowl? You guys are, like, so rude.

=ashie62 post_id=28536 time=1576552948 user_id=90] Porcello is close to Seton Hall prep. Might help. Then again he has a multiyear ineffective card.

He sure does like potatoes

Interesting perspective from Verducci on the sneaky prudence of the Porcello signing, https://www.si.com/mlb/2019/12/12/mets-rick-porcello?xid=socialflow_facebook_si&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sportsillustrated&utm_source=facebook.com&fbclid=IwAR1aK39_8hOyaWw4JHkh-qOJ9LR55TGPJMli-7WwrOFBCKrwZ5TJt9pglgQthis... in which he posits that a few changes in terms of approach might yield significant positive results. [bLOCKQUOTE]The righthander has terrific tools in terms of spin rate but needs to refine how he uses his stuff. Look for new Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, who came from Minnesota, to turn Porcello into Jake Odorizzi 2.0–working the zone up and down rather than side to side. A guy with similar stuff, Odorizzi had a lengthy conversation with Porcello last September about how that transition helped his career... ... Porcello's other issue is that he can't rely as often on his fastballs, especially his sinker, to put hitters away. His biggest problem in 2019 was making mistakes with his fastball when ahead.[/bLOCKQUOTE] I like the Porcello signing, I think (I'm less sanguine on our other formerly-sanguine-clad SP acquisition). I just would really love another investment or three in the rotation or bullpen that AREN'T fixer-uppers besides.

I do like Oller's hosiery stylings, if nothing else.

You know people get killed being thrown or falling from horses? Like, a LOT. (Something like 1 serious, life-threatening injury every 300 hours riding.) Never mind fractures, ligament tears and crush injuries. I'm all about employee rights in the face of unreasonable employer demands... but this isn't that. Sure, maybe he did something super dangerous, but that seems less likely on his own ranch. "Does it?" -Jayson Williams, Madison Bumgarner, Jeff Kent, Jason Pierre-Paul, and various others

I remember that he was bald and wore #16, from seeing the picture at the top of this thread.

What, no Baby Driver (2017)? Edgar Wright's vehicle vehicle may be more of a caper-gone-wrong-er, but still... practical driving stuntin' (to a fantastically curated soundtrack) is VERY much a featured co-star. The underrated CB-prank-gone-wrong slasher Joy Ride (2001) is worth a notice, too.

Making the same dollhairs as Jed Lowrie. Gun to head... who gives us more value this year(directly or indirectly), d'ya think?