Drafting done, now time for the real thing.
I'll miss Vin.
Opening Day is here! Time for a new thread.
JBDuke
Andre Dawkins: “People ask me if I can still shoot, and I ask them if they can still breathe. That’s kind of the same thing.”
Drafting done, now time for the real thing.
I'll miss Vin.
After a great spring -- the best record in baseball -- my Yankees open the regular season with a dismal performance at Tampa Bay.
Our "ace" Tanaka is hammered early and we're down 7-2 in the fourth.
Ugh!
SF Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner sets a MLB record with two Opening Day home runs. I wonder how many American League pitchers hit home runs today? Oh, never mind...
Bob Green
This may be my single post of the baseball season...sadly, I think I am in for a very long and tough run with my Tigs.
Nothing incites bodily violence quicker than a Duke fan turning in your direction and saying 'scoreboard.'
Nothing incites bodily violence quicker than a Duke fan turning in your direction and saying 'scoreboard.'
Hey, we had our first instance of the new automatic intentional walk rules. The Cubs "pitched around" Molina in the 9th in what would be a 4-3 win for the Cards, with him getting notified by the ump as he walked up to the plate that he was getting walked intentionally. Everyone seemed a bit confused. And it saved a whopping 30 seconds in a 3.5 hour game! So glad that the MLB has taken this time saving measure.
In fairness, I don't particularly care about the new rule. But it certainly doesn't do anything significant to speed up pace of play.
(From Greg Fishel of WRAL)
Mets Win! Magic Number 162!
Anybody else see how the Braves lost today?
Okay, the final is not that big a surprise -- the Hammer of Thor shut them out six innings and the Mets go to the ninth up 6-0.
But the ending was slightly bizarre.
Freeman leads off the ninth with a single, followed by a double by Kemp.
So men on second and third with no outs against the Mets bullpen (which is without Familia).
Markakis strikes out for out one.
Phillips hits a little swinging bunt down the first base line. The catcher, Rivera, makes a nice play and gets him by a step for out two.
... Then the Mets see that Kemp has broken for third, while Freeman (correctly down six in the ninth) has played it safe and stayed at third. Duda makes the easy throw to second and they get Kemp by five feet to end the game.
It probably doesn't impact the final outcome but just horrendous base running by the Braves.
Tim Tebow hit a home run in his first minor league at-bat. Off a pitcher who was taken with the 666th pick of the 2015 pick. Just saying.
Demented and sad, but social, right?
Nothing incites bodily violence quicker than a Duke fan turning in your direction and saying 'scoreboard.'
I'm a day or two late on this, but did anybody else see Stephen Piscotty's rather painful trip around the bases the other night against the Cubs?
He reached first when he was hit on the inside of his right elbow -- it was obviously a painful blow.
He went to second on a very short passed ball ... the late throw arrived as he was sliding and hit him in the left elbow. More pain.
The next batter dribbled a ball between the mound and first. When it was mishandled, Piscotty tried to go home. Baez picked up the ball and delivered a laser throw from maybe 50-60 feet out.
As Piscotty slid, the ball plunked him squarely in the side of the head. He was safe, but he had to leave the game. He did pass the concussion protocols, so nothing long-term, but still a tough way to score a run:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/...b06a4cb30f29b7
Yeah it was a tough night for Piscotty. But he was able to return yesterday as a defensive sub, so all is well.
Yesterday's Cubs/Cards game had more oddity. With a 4-2 lead in the seventh, reliever Brett Cecil struck out Matt Szczur on a ball in the dirt. But the at bat didn't end there. Yadier Molina couldn't locate the ball, allowing Szczur to reach first. The reason hMolina couldn't find the ball? It had adhered itself to his chest protector. You can't make this stuff up.
What a disaster yesterday for the Nationals... Gave up a team-record 12 runs in the bottom of the first to the Phillies. Committed their first error of the season, and then committed a second.
This was Jeremy Guthrie's first start in the majors since 2015. He'd had a pretty good spring for the Nationals, and they'd kept him on a minor league deal as insurance. With the extra off days in April, the Nats had decided to move their nominal 5th starter, Joe Ross, to Syracuse for a couple of weeks to ensure he got regular work in preparation for joining the team later in the month. It also allowed the team to keep up an extra bench player as they try to determine whether Taylor or Difo will be the 25th regular. Yesterday, Taylor was sent down and replaced by Guthrie for the spot start against Philadelphia.
In giving up 10 earned runs and only collecting two outs, Guthrie's ERA currently stands at 135.0. Yowza.
JBDuke
Andre Dawkins: “People ask me if I can still shoot, and I ask them if they can still breathe. That’s kind of the same thing.”
Just conferred with budwom and we might look into cultivating the flu in bosox visiting locker room at the Comer for weapons use during the remainder of the season.
Nothing incites bodily violence quicker than a Duke fan turning in your direction and saying 'scoreboard.'