The 2014 Major League baseball season

[Olympic Fan]

Awesome matchup Saturday night in Detroit.

King Felix on the mound for Seattle against David Price for the Tigers...

And the game really means something -- after Seattle's win Friday night, the Mariners are 1/2 game ahead of Detroit for the second wild card spot.

Still, a long way to go, but the Tigers really have to reverse their slide -- or before long they'll be in as bad a shape as my Yankees (and my Braves).

[Blue in the Face]

Awesome matchup Saturday night in Detroit.

King Felix on the mound for Seattle against David Price for the Tigers...

And the game really means something -- after Seattle's win Friday night, the Mariners are 1/2 game ahead of Detroit for the second wild card spot.

Still, a long way to go, but the Tigers really have to reverse their slide -- or before long they'll be in as bad a shape as my Yankees (and my Braves).

Games like this are why you make trades like that. Terrific game from Price.

[throatybeard]

Some guy for the Padres hit a grand slam (I think) to take an 8-5 lead over StL just before this latest rain delay. I think we'd be paying more attention to if they come back if it weren't for Ferguson.

[YmoBeThere]

The Dodgers are in a home field tailspin. They are also struggling against the Brewers. Luckily, they had the Bravos on the road.

[Olympic Fan]

Just thought it interesting, that despite all the panic in Atlanta (and on this board) when the Brave completed that disastrous West Coast road trip, they started play today (Wednesday, Aug. 20) in a virtual tie for the last NL Wild Card spot -- thanks to the inept efforts of the Cubs grounds crew:

http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/c...n-delay-081914

Still a long, long way to go -- but no reason to give up on the season yet.

[Duvall]

Just thought it interesting, that despite all the panic in Atlanta (and on this board) when the Brave completed that disastrous West Coast road trip, they started play today (Wednesday, Aug. 20) in a virtual tie for the last NL Wild Card spot -- thanks to the inept efforts of the Cubs grounds crew:

http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/c...n-delay-081914

Still a long, long way to go -- but no reason to give up on the season yet.

Cubs ground crew in action:

[weezie]

Still, a long way to go, but the Tigers really have to reverse their slide -- or before long they'll be in as bad a shape as my Yankees (and my Braves).

I'm about to start the "Bring Out Your Dead...SLAM..." chant.

[Olympic Fan]

I'm about to start the "Bring Out Your Dead...SLAM..." chant.

Funny you mention that because as the Braves lost game after game on the West Coast recently, all I could think of was the Black Knight, losing limb after limb and still fighting on ... "It's only a flesh wound!".

Lose nine is a row?

"Okay, we'll call it a draw."

[Olympic Fan]

Just thought it interesting, that despite all the panic in Atlanta (and on this board) when the Brave completed that disastrous West Coast road trip, they started play today (Wednesday, Aug. 20) in a virtual tie for the last NL Wild Card spot -- thanks to the inept efforts of the Cubs grounds crew:

http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/c...n-delay-081914

Still a long, long way to go -- but no reason to give up on the season yet.

Oops, I spoke too soon. MLB upheld the Giants' protest over the Cubs grounds crew -- the first protest upheld in 23 years -- and changed Tuesday night's 2-0 Cubs win into a suspended game.

The two teams will pick up the game in the bottom of the fifth with the Cubs up 2-0 Thursday afternoon, before the scheduled night game between the two teams.

For now, the Giants are 1/2 game up on the Braves for the last NL wild card spot (at least until tonight's games are decided).

[throatybeard]

The Braves are actually rather decent this year.

[Duvall]

The Braves are actually rather decent this year.

...said shortly before Atlanta will allow the Pirates to end their losing streak.

[Duvall]

The Braves are actually rather decent this year.

Yeah, not so much.

[JasonEvans]

...said shortly before Atlanta will allow the Pirates to end their losing streak.

When you blow a routine play in the OF to give up a win, how does that affect your WAR? The bungling Upton brothers want to know.

--Jason "actually, Jordan Walden probably deserves at least a -.3 WAR for his wild-pitch filled relief performance... if WAR actually worked that way" Evans

[Blue in the Face]

Oops, I spoke too soon. MLB upheld the Giants' protest over the Cubs grounds crew -- the first protest upheld in 23 years -- and changed Tuesday night's 2-0 Cubs win into a suspended game.

The two teams will pick up the game in the bottom of the fifth with the Cubs up 2-0 Thursday afternoon, before the scheduled night game between the two teams.

That's interesting to me, because there was a similar situation last month at Yankee Stadium with the grounds crew really struggling with the tarp, that led to a rain shortened win for the Yanks over the Rangers. Had they gotten the infield covered in normal time, the game definitely would have been continued, and the delay wouldn't have even been that long. At the time, the Yankees were only 3 back of Baltimore, and half a game back of the 2nd wildcard, so the game meant something. Texas was already a non-factor, so it didn't hurt their season, and I guess it didn't even occur to them to protest a meaningless (for them) game, but I thought at the time it was kind of unfair that the Yankees' crew snafu helped them to a win, potentially hurting other teams in the AL playoff race. I guess the O's, Mariners, Jays or anyone else with hopes of that wildcard spot couldn't file a protest for a game they weren't involved in, but it seemed a bit unfair. Maybe the protest gods knew that the yanks weren't long for the playoff race.

Edit - Having now read an article about the ruling, I see that they found that the Cubs hadn't wrapped up the tarp properly, which caused the problems, and that's apparently a violation of league rules. That wasn't the case in the yankee game (the tarp got taken by the wind, and the crew simply couldn't control it and pull it over the infield), so I guess that's a meaningful difference between the two situations. Still, I'd be pretty ticked if that win had playoff implications and I were one of the competing teams.

[rasputin]

That's interesting to me, because there was a similar situation last month at Yankee Stadium with the grounds crew really struggling with the tarp, that led to a rain shortened win for the Yanks over the Rangers. Had they gotten the infield covered in normal time, the game definitely would have been continued, and the delay wouldn't have even been that long. At the time, the Yankees were only 3 back of Baltimore, and half a game back of the 2nd wildcard, so the game meant something. Texas was already a non-factor, so it didn't hurt their season, and I guess it didn't even occur to them to protest a meaningless (for them) game, but I thought at the time it was kind of unfair that the Yankees' crew snafu helped them to a win, potentially hurting other teams in the AL playoff race. I guess the O's, Mariners, Jays or anyone else with hopes of that wildcard spot couldn't file a protest for a game they weren't involved in, but it seemed a bit unfair. Maybe the protest gods knew that the yanks weren't long for the playoff race.

Edit - Having now read an article about the ruling, I see that they found that the Cubs hadn't wrapped up the tarp properly, which caused the problems, and that's apparently a violation of league rules. That wasn't the case in the yankee game (the tarp got taken by the wind, and the crew simply couldn't control it and pull it over the infield), so I guess that's a meaningful difference between the two situations. Still, I'd be pretty ticked if that win had playoff implications and I were one of the competing teams.

I was surprised by the ruling, because there is a rule that specifically allows for a suspended game in the case of a malfunction with a MECHANICAL tarp. Expressio unius est exclusio alterius (the expression of one thing is the exclusion of another). Did the article you read explain how they got around this aspect of the rule?

[Blue in the Face]

I was surprised by the ruling, because there is a rule that specifically allows for a suspended game in the case of a malfunction with a MECHANICAL tarp. Expressio unius est exclusio alterius (the expression of one thing is the exclusion of another). Did the article you read explain how they got around this aspect of the rule?

They just refer to it as a mechanical device.

An examination of the circumstances of last night’s game has led to the determination that there was sufficient cause to believe that there was a “malfunction of a mechanical field device under control of the home club” within the meaning of Official Baseball Rule 4.12(a)(3). Available video of the incident, and conversations with representatives of the Cubs, demonstrate that the Cubs’ inability to deploy the tarp appropriately was caused by the failure to properly wrap and spool the tarp after its last use. As a result, the groundskeeping crew was unable to properly deploy the tarp after the rain worsened. In accordance with Rule 4.12(a)(3), the game should be considered a suspended game that must be completed at a future date.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-...game-with-cubs

[rasputin]

They just refer to it as a mechanical device.



http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-...game-with-cubs

Thanks for the clarification. I think it's a stretch to call it a mechanical device, especially given that they refer to human error as the underlying cause.

[Duvall]

After a 42-hour rain delay, the Cubs...win?

[Blue in the Face]

David Price is an awfully good pitcher, but even on what is basically his best day, he simply can't do it all himself.

8 IP, 1H, 1 R, 0 ER, 9K, 0 BB - complete game loss. 2005 Roger Clemens feels that pain.

[weezie]

David Price is an awfully good pitcher, but even on what is basically his best day, he simply can't do it all himself.

8 IP, 1H, 1 R, 0 ER, 9K, 0 BB - complete game loss. 2005 Roger Clemens feels that pain.

2014 weezie feels it too. And 2005-2013 weezie, she feels it even more. Apparently there's a dawning awareness in the D that this ain't the year....