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Post by libertine on Mar 31, 2019 21:24:37 GMT -5
Well that series was downright fugly. We looked like a team still in ST mode. I don't think the Mariners were stealing signs, I don't think that the pitchers can't pitch to Vazquez/Swihart, it looked like they were not regular season ready. But the pen (who not coincidentally had a normal Spring of preparation) was a bright spot. Silver linings and all...
The Mariners had the 2 games in Japan. They got to come home, settle in and rest up. When I saw the schedule originally my first reaction was "An extended west coast trip right out of the gate? Yuck, this might not go well...".
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Post by libertine on Mar 31, 2019 21:14:24 GMT -5
Maybe Xander just felt bad for the guy and didn't want to see any permanent psychic/karmic damage done to him. As it is Moore still might have played himself into baseball oblivion with that nightmare. After everything that went down that last half inning that was the last way I thought this game would end. Nearly a day later, I'm still looking for a story naming all the other players in MLB history who have made errors on three consecutive potential win-clinching plays. Given that I can hardly remember anyone making an error on three straight plays, period, I'm guessing it's either 0 or 1.
Google doesn't bring up an AP or MLB.com game story. Moore is presumably thankful this happened past midnight on the East Coast.
I couldn't recall seeing/hearing of anything like it ever happening off the top of my head at the time it happened. Tbf I am not surprised it might be a first, thanks for the research trying to figure out if it had.
Like I said I am not sure if his confidence in the field will ever return after that freak show. Hopefully he can hit and has a career as a DH in front of him.
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Post by libertine on Mar 30, 2019 23:56:29 GMT -5
Maybe Xander just felt bad for the guy and didn't want to see any permanent psychic/karmic damage done to him. As it is Moore still might have played himself into baseball oblivion with that nightmare.
After everything that went down that last half inning that was the last way I thought this game would end.
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Post by libertine on Mar 30, 2019 23:27:01 GMT -5
WTF? It ends on a called strike on an 0-2 count? This can be a strange game at times...
Can't leave the bat on your shoulder there X.
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Post by libertine on Mar 30, 2019 23:19:38 GMT -5
wow.just.wow
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Post by libertine on Mar 30, 2019 23:15:31 GMT -5
LOL!! Are the Mariners trying to give away this game? C'mon JD make 'em pay...
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Post by libertine on Mar 30, 2019 22:38:28 GMT -5
Well at least the pen has looked good for the first three games. Other than that not so much of anything else...
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Post by libertine on Mar 30, 2019 19:08:45 GMT -5
So the Brockstar and Blake get their first starts of the season tonight. And after the two taxing nights for the pen what are the chances that E-Rod can be efficient and go deep into the game? Very low That is my feeling too. I was hoping someone would talk me off the ledge, lol.
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Post by libertine on Mar 30, 2019 18:43:31 GMT -5
So the Brockstar and Blake get their first starts of the season tonight. And after the two taxing nights for the pen what are the chances that E-Rod can be efficient and go deep into the game?
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Post by libertine on Mar 30, 2019 0:32:21 GMT -5
Craig who?!?
Great win!!!
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Post by libertine on Mar 30, 2019 0:18:13 GMT -5
MORELAND!!!!
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Post by libertine on Mar 30, 2019 0:00:52 GMT -5
While Moreland, Holt and Swihart sat on the bench...
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Post by libertine on Mar 28, 2019 22:31:58 GMT -5
Though having to watch it on ESPN made a game devoid of almost all enjoyment that much less enjoyable.
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Post by libertine on Mar 28, 2019 22:29:12 GMT -5
Well that didn't go as planned. Still early. Sale had only pitched 9 innings since the start of ST, building up arm strength still (I hope). Season openers are usually indicative of nothing. It's out of the way, roll on game #2.
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Post by libertine on Feb 22, 2019 10:26:04 GMT -5
Shocking and tragic. Even my 90 year-old Yankee fan dad knew of Nick and enjoyed reading his columns.
My deepest condolences to his family and friends. RIP Nick Cafardo...
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Post by libertine on Feb 19, 2019 23:08:17 GMT -5
My antipathy for the player aside...I like this deal. I think it is good for the game. The more teams that are competitive the more exciting the game is...
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Post by libertine on Feb 15, 2019 11:41:43 GMT -5
he has not been given a legitimate chance Which, like... the alternatives were Christian Vazquez and Sandy Leon. We're not talking about the time Jeff Bagwell was blocked by Wade Boggs. Not only Boggs but the next great Red Sox 3B Scott Cooper!
But then again some people put Boggs like value on Vazquez based on his defensive potential. A potential that he has never seemed to fully realize.
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Post by libertine on Feb 15, 2019 11:35:54 GMT -5
I guess I will have to agree to disagree with the people who claim "all objective evidence" indicates that Swihart is a bad catcher (or not "good" one). From where I sit all objective evidence indicates he has not been given a legitimate chance to prove that one way or another...
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Post by libertine on Feb 10, 2019 1:11:05 GMT -5
Ok I just need to clear up some stuff about the mound height. The mound prior to 1969 was 15". In 1963 MLB increased the top of the strike zone to the top of the shoulders in response to what Maris and Mantle did in 1961. With a 15" high mound and an increased strike zone pitchers ran riot. The 60's was the decade of the pitcher. 1963 coincided with the beginning of Koufax's insane 4 year run to end his career. In 1968 Bob Gibson was 22-9 with a 1.12 ERA. The same year in the AL Denny McLain became the last pitcher to win 30 games, 31-6 with a 1.97 ERA. Yaz was the only AL hitter to break .300 that season. The Year of the Pitcher.
MLB responded, realizing they had gone too far in helping the pitchers, in 1969 (not 1966) by lowering the mound to 10" and moving the top of the strike zone back down to the midpoint between the shoulders and the belt. It was not about, somehow, negating home field advantage. It was completely about injecting more offense back in the game that the pitchers had dominated for the previous 6 years. It worked.
As I was typing this I was thinking what Pedro in his prime would have done throwing off a 15" high mound with a strike zone that extended to the top of the shoulders. LOL, he probably would have had and ERA below 1.00 and likely would have struck out 400+ batters for at least a couple of the years.
The point being I think history shows that lowering the mound helps the hitters. And I think a conclusion can be assumed that higher scoring games lead to longer games. So I think lowering the mound will not help MLB reduce the length of the games and will actually increase it.
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Post by libertine on Feb 6, 2019 23:02:48 GMT -5
Sure...if the interest is there.
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Post by libertine on Feb 6, 2019 22:53:34 GMT -5
I hate the three batter minimum idea.
I don't like lowering the mound.
I am ambivalent about the universal DH but, what they hay, the rules should be the same for both leagues.
I am actually fine with a 20 second pitch clock. No pitcher should take longer than that between pitches.
I hate the idea of starting a runner at 2nd in extras.
To me much of this appears to be a solution in search of a problem. It is about pace of play. But some of the proposed new rules appear to counteract each other. The pitch clock and 3 batter minimum will speed it up but lowering the mound will lead to higher scoring, longer, games. The big difference between now and the pre-1980's game is the amount and length of the commercial breaks. Limit commercials to between innings and shorten the time of the breaks. Cut down on the warm-up time for relievers, when they come in from the pen they should be ready to go after a few tosses.
Adding 2 roster spots is a cookie for the union as is the proposed draft pick rule, imo, by forcing teams to spend more money to be competitive or suffer the consequences. But, imo again, the big market teams don't need an additional perk in a misguided effort to make MLB more competitive. The draft rules are just fine as they are. Look at what the Astros and the Braves have been able to do recently with all of their high picks. The draft system works fine...
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Post by libertine on Feb 4, 2019 0:13:57 GMT -5
This SB championship is Belichick and the coaches'. They set-up to stop the run and make an inexperienced, young, QB try to beat them. The players executed the plan the way they were supposed to and it worked perfectly.
Brady is well past his glory days/prime. But even a Tom Brady in decline might still be the one QB in the league you would want if you need to win a big game. He just finds ways to win...
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Post by libertine on Feb 3, 2019 23:32:33 GMT -5
I remember those teams from the first half of the 70's. Comprehensively awful teams. It all started changing when they got Plunkett and Vataha. Russ Francis was pretty good too...
And it easily could've been 8 SB's if not for 2 miracle catches by Giants receivers.
Remember tiny Mack Herron? Sam Bam Cunningham? When they got Stingley, Morgan - and on defense, Haynes and Fox - things started to turn around. I also recall a miracle victory - Bob Windsor (tight end) caught a pass and wrecked his knees getting into the end zone for the win - I don't think he played again. Oh, do I remember them. Loved Mack Herron. What did they call him? The Mighty Mite? The Stingley, Morgan era was when I actually started to believe that some day, just maybe some day, they might actually go to a SB (never mind win one, lol). Oh, and John Hannah was an animal too.
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Post by libertine on Feb 3, 2019 23:22:41 GMT -5
I remember sitting in the original stadium in Foxboro on a rainy day in 1970 - just awful, Pats got shut out - Joe Kapp was the QB. A 6th SB, a QB like Brady - this has just been so sweet. I remember those teams from the first half of the 70's. Comprehensively awful teams. It all started changing when they got Plunkett and Vataha. Russ Francis was pretty good too...
And it easily could've been 8 SB's if not for 2 miracle catches by Giants receivers.
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Post by libertine on Feb 3, 2019 22:40:21 GMT -5
I don't know what to say at this point. Normal superlatives won't suffice. This is old school MFY's/Montreal Canadiens/Boston Celtics kinda of a dynasty in a sport currently set-up to ensure parity.
Never saw this coming when I first started following the lowly Pats 45+ years ago. From lowly to the NFL's GOAT. Amazing...
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