Let's talk Baseball!

[crgildart]

Heard he went "up & in" on him, too

Evan Longoria was rehabing with The Bulls a couple years ago. We got to see his first game there, first at bat coming back.. Pitcher beaned him in the back on the very first pitch and everyone on both teams laughed hysterically..

 

[Marker]

He was really well-liked here in Toronto..fans were huge when he gave it to AJ Burnett after he left for the Yankees. Really pipped up interest here after 1993 and the subsequent strike. Toronto really didn't come back from the strike very well until Halladay came along and gave people something to watch again. Big loss.

If AJ Burnett isn't on those Yankees, then the Phillies might have won the 2009 World Series. That team didn't have Halladay, but added Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez to bolster a weakening pitching staff from the previous year.

 

[Jim McDonald]

Wonderful tribute to Roy Halladay from Brandon McCarthy:
"He was your favorite player's favorite player."

 

[crgildart]

Bumping this to comment in the crazy ending last night. That's what happens when a pitcher trying to end the 9th inning puts soooo much damned vasoline on the ball that nobody else can hold it LOL! Cheating backfires sometimes!

 

[Philpug]

Bumping this to comment in the crazy ending last night. That's what happens when a pitcher trying to end the 9th inning puts soooo much damned vasoline on the ball that nobody else can hold it LOL! Cheating backfires sometimes!

Put the tin foil hat away. The whole game was crazy. The Dodgers were clutch with 2 outs. The Rays never gave up at any point. I am glad I am not vested in either team because that was one great game to watch. It was right up there with Joe Carter's home run, a game that I was on the losing end of being vested in, with endings that left me saying "what just happened"

 

[crgildart]

Put the tin foil hat away. The whole game was crazy. The Dodgers were clutch with 2 outs. The Rays never gave up at any point. I am glad I am not vested in either team because that was one great game to watch. It was right up there with Joe Carter's home run, a game that I was on the losing end of being vested in, with endings that left me saying "what just happened"

Only thing that made that less crazy than Buckner's error against the 86 Mets was that was Dodgers were only up 2 games to one last night, not 3 like the Sox were.

We go up the street a mile and a half to see the Durham Bulls play a coupe times every "normal" season. So, all in for the Rays!

 

[James]

Uuggh. Ending with two errors.
Goes up there with the Braves having 2nd and third with 1 out and getting themselves ino a double play on a ground ball. That was bizarre.
Gotta wonder if this puts Jansen into a spiral.

 

[James]

In other news, I’ve just realized the Brewers have a new logo. It’s horrible. When it’s shrunk on tv it’s like an acorn, or buckeye, surrounded by thin writing.

 

[Philpug]

This Rays team is like a pesky gnat that won't go away.

 

[crgildart]

This Rays team is like a pesky gnat that won't go away.

Gnats are paid better

 

[James]

At least they’re not playing in that hellish Tropicana Dome.
But they’re playing in artificial turf! Weird.

 

[James]

Well Mookie Betts indeed put the Dodgers over the top. First time since 1988.
The Rays taking out Snell in the 5th with 1out and 1on will be questioned for a long time. But if you only score 1 run, you can’t expect a win. Justin Turner test came back positive in the 7th inning.
Definitely the two best teams were in there. A good series.

 

[crgildart]

Well Mookie Betts indeed put the Dodgers over the top. First time since 1988.
The Rays taking out Snell in the 5th with 1out and 1on will be questioned for a long time. But if you only score 1 run, you can’t expect a win. Justin Turner test came back positive in the 7th inning.
Definitely the two best teams were in there. A good series.

WOW I guess Turner missed all the festivities last night bummer!

Congrats to the Dodgers. Their bats were hotter for sure.

 

[James]

WOW I guess Turner missed all the festivities last night bummer!

He came out for the photo and some schmoozing apparently. The taking out of Snell really turned things around, but the Dodgers only needed 2 runs in 3 2/3 innings and Snell wasn’t going to pitch that long. I really like the Dodgers Julio Urias, who pitched the final 2 innings. He just comes out throwing strikes and challenging hitters.

Passan: The oddest of World Series ends with the most 2020 moment of the season

Justin Turner's return to the field to celebrate with his Dodgers teammates after testing positive for COVID-19 is this bizarre baseball season -- and this year in America -- in a nutshell.

www.espn.com

 

[SSSdave]

Hope this shakes up the dominant strategy in this era of always taking out starting pitchers at mid innings simply because of some statistical analysis. Although it is true there are many pitchers for which the late innings show a decrease in effectiveness, baseball history has many pitching stars that often pitched complete games strongly to the end. When a pitcher is in a groove, in the zone, and has a hisotry of being able to do so, baseball strategist need to rethink how important that is. In my day, Drysdale, Gibson, Spahn, Marichal, Koufax, Carlton, Seaver all had long careers with lots of long innings and complete games. Fans certainly like to see a pitcher in such a zone to go a full 9.

 

[crgildart]

Hope this shakes up the dominant strategy in this era of always taking out starting pitchers at mid innings simply because of some statistical analysis. Although it is true there are many pitchers for which the late innings show a decrease in effectiveness, baseball history has many pitching stars that often pitched complete games strongly to the end. When a pitcher is in a groove, in the zone, and has a hisotry of being able to do so, baseball strategist need to rethink how important that is. In my day, Drysdale, Gibson, Spahn, Marichal, Koufax, Carlton, Seaver all had long careers with lots of long innings and complete games. Fans certainly like to see a pitcher in such a zone to go a full 9.

I think it's more about the fear that the other team is on the verge of figuring out the cycle pr pitches for that particular arm... Ask any pitcher and they'll tell you "if the batter knows what pitch is coming I don't have a chance". Without the element of surprise, it doesn't matter how hard they're throwing or how hard the ball is breaking. That's why Houston stealing signs was such a big deal.

 

[James]

I think it's more about the fear that the other team is on the verge of figuring out the cycle pr pitches for that particular arm... Ask any pitcher and they'll tell you "if the batter knows what pitch is coming I don't have a chance". Without the element of surprise, it doesn't matter how hard they're throwing or how hard the ball is breaking. That's why Houston stealing signs was such a big deal.

Not last night. The Dodgers were very relieved when he left. Kevin Cash has been around forever, he’s not blind. I find it hard to believe he wanted to take a guy out who was completely dominating. The thing is, these days it’s likely to be the front office, and not the manager who makes this decision. The manager has to take the responsibility though.

It’s crazy, Seaver had something like 260 complete games. We won’t see that again.

 

[SSSdave]

That may indeed be a key factor on why baseball strategy has embraced such in this era, however someone pitching with the dominance Snell did while in the zone is not in much danger of being figured out and that is the point. There are times when managers need to consider human factors that will never be in some statistical chart.

 

[crgildart]

Not last night. The Dodgers were very relieved when he left. Kevin Cash has been around forever, he’s not blind. I find it hard to believe he wanted to take a guy out who was completely dominating. The thing is, these days it’s likely to be the front office, and not the manager who makes this decision. The manager has to take the responsibility though.

It’s crazy, Seaver had something like 260 complete games. We won’t see that again.

OH I'm not saying that it was right. Brand new dude got ROCKED LOL. It's a factor, didn't work out as they expected of course..

 

[doc]

Lets just hope analytics, which is sterilizing baseball and, like last night, sometimes has adverse results, doesn't infect football.