You have the Brewers winning a wild-card spot, not the Cardinals...yet STL makes it to the World Series.Indeed, meant to have Cardinals 2nd, Brewers 3rd.
Unless the ball was like halfway in his glove already, that should have been called a HR. I believe the rule is that fans can only interfere as the ball is "in play" as in - in the playing area. If a fan prevents a player from catching the ball past the wall, then it's not interference, only if the fan reaches over the wall into the playing field is it interference.It was tough to tell, but it appeared he was over the field of play, but the ball was well above the wall, it was going to clear.
I've taken a big step back in my baseball fanaticism this past year, so I won't post the whole standings, but I will say this:Not sure where you draw your baseball acumen for the AL Central from, but so far you are spot on as of 4/28/2019:
The Twins win the AL Central because they're just better than CLE. The Indians are messing around too much and it's going to bite them this year.
The Pirates are 0 for 18 on the season when the bases are loaded.The Cardinals won 18 games in April and have the best record in the NL.
Not sure where you draw your baseball acumen for the AL Central from, but so far you are spot on as of 4/28/2019:The AL Central isn't hard to figure - 3 teams are godawful, one has been winning the division by default and keeps taking measures to trim payroll, and then there's the Twins, who are better than they should be and have improved.
Twins 16-9 (.640)
Indians 15-12 (.556)
Cutting workday short for afternoon Padres Vs Mets.
Why don't they retroactively make runs earned? Last night Oakland guy scored on an error, so it was unearned, but even without the error, he would have been on second base. Then the next guy hit a HR, so he would have scored either way.I don't know if it's THE reason, but I can think of A reason. The situation is different, and the pitcher may be pitching differently because of it.
AMERICAN | NATIONAL | |
Gary Sanchez, Yankees | C | Yasmani Grandal, Brewers |
Carlos Santana, Indians | 1B | Josh Bell, Pirates |
Brandon Lowe, Rays | 2B | Ketel Marte, Diamondbacks |
Alex Bregman, Astros | 3B | Nolan Arenado, Rockies |
Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox | SS | Trevor Story, Rockies |
Mike Trout, Angels | OF | Christian Yelich, Brewers |
Joey Gallo, Rangers | OF | Cody Bellinger, Dodgers |
George Springer, Astros | OF | Ronald Acuna Jr., Braves |
Daniel Vogelbach, Mariners | DH |
My Braves are playing well of late.They are a fun team to watch
I was a Braves fan back in the WTBS days when they were consistently awful. It was enjoyable in a way, it was "baseball", if they won it was fun (and rare) and if they lost, well, so what? I liked the players. All that was ruined in 1990.Yeah I had a bunch of friends growing up in the 90s who became Braves fans, because the Tigers sucked for the entire decade, and the Braves were always on TV, and were awesome.
It's liberating to root for an awful team.Eh, awful might be pushing it, depending on the situation. Last year and this year with the Tigers have been rough, because they are in the tear down process. Next year, they'll still be bad, but you'll start seeing some guys who will hopefully be part of this team being solid again in maybe 2022? So they will at least be worth watching.
I was a Braves fan back in the WTBS days when they were consistently awful. It was enjoyable in a way, it was "baseball", if they won it was fun (and rare) and if they lost, well, so what? I liked the players. All that was ruined in 1990.Kind of like my following the Tribe from 1959 - 93 they finished 3rd twice I believe.But they were fun to following,alaways interesting characters.All that was ruined in 1994 when Jacobs field opened.Nothing like the old Municipal Stadium with 80,000 + seats.We use to joke we had our own vendors
I've noodled before about being say a Kansas football fan. You attend the home games and tailgate and cheer your team, and after the game, you tailgate some more. Of the team makes a bowl game at 6-6, it's cause for more celebration.I think 2013-15 ruined MSU football for me. I was happy to be consistently pretty good, never an embarrassment, generally a bowl team, happy to beat rivals, and occasionally play for a Big Ten title.
It's the Ole Miss philosophy really. Those Rebels really know how to party, win or lose.
For Alabama fans, anything but a crushing 77-0 win is a loss.
Article summary: Lenny Dykstra and his amateur wrestling friend, who goes by the name Sprinkles the Clown, spent 9 hours dumpster diving outside a Jersey Mikes, looking for his $80,000 dentures, made with real bone marrow.My mom made me dumpster-dive for my retainer in 5th grade, after having thrown it out with my lunch tray. Wound up, my next dentist visit, I didn't need the retainer anymore. So that was fun.
https://www.nj.com/union/2019/06/ex-mlb-star-lenny-dykstra-spent-9-hours-dumpster-diving-outside-a-jersey-mikes-heres-why.html
Angel Hernandez continues to disgrace himselfI can't think of anyone so widely acknowledged as being objectively horrible at his job, who is allowed to maintain it, where removal doesn't seem slightly difficult.
Angel Hernandez continues to disgrace himself
Who did that Mets?Pirates?Tigers
And the White Sox are sucking again, season after season.Might be for the betterment of baseball as a whole though. This whole "all in" on the tear down, and rebuild is based off it working for the Astros and the Cubs. I get it in the NBA, you can't win without superstars, and how many teams enter the playoffs with a realistic title shot? Maybe 3? But with baseball, I don't get it. Draftees are so far away, they have a much higher bust rate, and in baseball, if you just get in, you have a shot.
Overshadowed by the Cubs, their own fan blogs have given up (see link below), clueless ownership, and unluckier than usual with injuries this year.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/deadspin.com/white-sox-sign-shitty-player-1831656270/amp
Royals had no media attend. Restricted player access. Nominal fee to attend. Nesn feed. This happens every now and then.I can't recall a makeup like this. In extra innings, not otherwise built into a series
Bummer. The Crew would be playoff fodder this season, still could be, but this sucks. Yelich having another great season.He's just a fun dude to watch play.
Rare to see such a high foul off like that. That was a missle off his bat.
As a lifetime Cardinals fan, I am amazed that the Redbirds went into Wrigley and swept a 4-game series.They absolutely obliterated the Pirates last weekend. Few things more enjoyable than watching Joe Maddon fail
Cubs are now out of the NL Central race, and need a lot of help to make a wild-card slot. September has been a rough month for them.
Milwaukee won again, remaining 3 games behind the Cards. Right now, the Brewers and the Nationals are tied for the wild-card slots, and the Cubs are 4 games back with 6 games to play.
Few things more enjoyable than watching Joe Maddon failHe gone, but someone will grab him, I'm sure. Or maybe he's done. Sure seemed like it. Different guy from what he was 5 years ago. Looks like a beaten down man, just like his team the past two weeks.
Anderson's BABIP was .402 this year. Over 100 point jump from last year. His batting average jumped nearly 100 points.I know Kenny is still around and lurking, but Rick Hahn is not Kenny. He doesn't fall in love with his players like that.
Look for Anderson's batting average to drop 70-80 points next year. But I'm sure the White Sox's front office will view him as a building block or something.
I've taken a big step back in my baseball fanaticism this past year, so I won't post the whole standings, but I will say this:Right on the Twins
The Twins win the AL Central because they're just better than CLE. The Indians are messing around too much and it's going to bite them this year.
The Dodgers will win a 7th straight NL West crown, even without Kershaw contributing a lot.
The Padres still won't matter.
The NL East will have 4 teams with at least 80 wins, and none with more than 90.
The Angels will matter in September.
WS Pick:
no clue
Yankees d. Dodgers
How many were staring at their phones instead of the game? If you're not going to WATCH the baseball game, don't go to the baseball game!Good point.
So weird that the Braves and Dodgers would be the best teams in the regular season and flame out in the playoffs.Not weird at all....the postseason produces a nearly random outcome. The wild card system and before that, the division series, has skewed the baseball postseason more towards entertainment and further away from competition.
Not weird at all....the postseason produces a nearly random outcome. The wild card system and before that, the division series, has skewed the baseball postseason more towards entertainment and further away from competition.Yup. But it's what the people want...it's all entertainment, after all.
Not weird at all....the postseason produces a nearly random outcome. The wild card system and before that, the division series, has skewed the baseball postseason more towards entertainment and further away from competition.Some franchises find it more random than others.
Some franchises find it more random than others.Yeah, still not an argument against randomness. You flip a coin 100 times, you'll flip heads 7-8-9 times in a row at some point. All a franchise can do is get into the playoffs as often as possible.
Not weird at all....the postseason produces a nearly random outcome. The wild card system and before that, the division series, has skewed the baseball postseason more towards entertainment and further away from competition.Yep.
Why?
But the Braves/Dodgers bowing out earlier than expected can't be surprising at this point
Why?I didn't say it did. I just said when the Braves and Dodgers bow out earlier than expected I fail to be surprised anymore. Are you?
Because of the logo on their hats? The Braves losing an LDS to the Cards in 2019 has something to do with their 14 straight division crowns and yet only 1 WS? With entirely different players and management?
Oh, I'd love to hear that argument.
Yup. But it's what the people want...it's all entertainment, after all.I honestly wouldn’t mind an experiment in the NFL where each team played every team in their respective conference once and one crossover game with the other conference. Best records at the end of the year end the year playing in the Super Bowl. But I get why they do it the other way. The more teams alive for the postseason the more fanbases that stay interested, etc.
European top-tier soccer leagues have it right for selecting the champion: same number of games against all opponents, home and away, winner is the team with the best record at the end.
But that doesn't sell in the US.
I honestly wouldn’t mind an experiment in the NFL where each team played every team in their respective conference once and one crossover game with the other conference. Best records at the end of the year end the year playing in the Super Bowl. But I get why they do it the other way. The more teams alive for the postseason the more fanbases that stay interested, etc.Plus relegation gives teams at the bottom something to care about
But where I really don’t have a dog in the fight anymore in professional sports I wouldn’t mind just seeing the best regular season teams from each league/conference just meet in the championship.
Can't wait for the next 9-7 Super Bowl champ!!!I'm legitimately torn between what I hate more, that, or roughly 115-120 out of 130 teams playing meaningless games midway through the season.
I'm legitimately torn between what I hate more, that, or roughly 115-120 out of 130 teams playing meaningless games midway through the season.Meaningless because not factoring into the NC? I think that's just wrong. Teams still have goals.
Meaningless because not factoring into the NC? I think that's just wrong. Teams still have goals.I agree, but the current system makes those goals meh. It's CFP or bust.
For example, the University of Tulsa will never win a national championship. That doesn't, or shouldn't, anyway, mean that their games are meaningless. They have the goals of winning their division in the AAC, winning the AAC, and winning their bowl game.
I agree, but the current system makes those goals meh. It's CFP or bust.It’s only that way if you think of it that way. And it’s honestly always sort of have been like that anyway. Winning the MAC doesn’t have any less impact on the national title scene than it 30 years ago, but it’s still a worthwhile goal for the teams in that conference. I’ve had some gratifying seasons as a fan watching teams that started out poorly and improved as the season went on to make a bowl.
It’s only that way if you think of it that way. And it’s honestly always sort of have been like that anyway. Winning the MAC doesn’t have any less impact on the national title scene than it 30 years ago, but it’s still a worthwhile goal for the teams in that conference. I’ve had some gratifying seasons as a fan watching teams that started out poorly and improved as the season went on to make a bowl.No, but the importance of winning your conference or playing in a good bowl vs. the national title certainly has.
No, but the importance of winning your conference or playing in a good bowl vs. the national title certainly has.I guess this is something you and I have went around on before and just see differently. Last year’s Rose Bowl between Washington and Ohio St to me wasn’t any less important than it was 30 years ago when Michigan St and USC played in it. Both games were matchups of really good teams that won their conferences but weren’t in the NC picture. I struggle sometimes to see the difference in how the bowls were viewed.
I guess this is something you and I have went around on before and just see differently. Last year’s Rose Bowl between Washington and Ohio St to me wasn’t any less important than it was 30 years ago when Michigan St and USC played in it. Both games were matchups of really good teams that won their conferences but weren’t in the NC picture. I struggle sometimes to see the difference in how the bowls were viewed.Yes, but a few things.
Every bowl, even the major ones, has had its share of “meaningless” games that goes back well before the CFP.
Yes, but a few things.Those are fair points. I think the biggest difference in our viewpoint is just how we grew up viewing the Bowls. You’ve mentioned before the Rose Bowl was a family event for you. All the major bowls held equal standing with me with whatever one(s) that had NC implications getting more of my attention.
1.) Even if it was "meaningless" as far as the national championship went, it was still the peak bowl for that team. Ohio State could do no better than the Rose Bowl, Alabama the Sugar Bowl, etc..., even if it had no national title implications. It was still the goal bowl. Now, if you are in the Rose Bowl, it means you weren't good enough for your real goal.
2.) Even in the BCS era, the national title game was a single game. It was such an elite echelon, that coverage could not and did not singularly focus on it. The way the coverage is now, you would think they went straight to a 64 team playoff, because the 4 team playoff seems to be covered like the NCAA basketball tournament.
3.) The randomness of the bowl tie ins. Even as your goals adjusted with each loss, it went from Championship Game, to Rose Bowl, to NYD bowl, to just getting a bowl. I know there was some playing with that, but there was at least somewhat of a correlation. Now, the Big Ten just has a bunch of random bowl deals, and they have to take 6 different teams over 6 years or something. So once you get to 6 wins, meh? Nothing you do from that point on impacts anything. I don't think MSU has been to the Citrus or Outback Bowls this cycle, so hell, we might go 6-6 or 7-5 and wind up playing NYD just because we can, and the other bowl eligible teams can't.
Everyone knows it's a grind, but this is a good point and MAY be why baseball is waning with younger people: you have to really love baseball to be a baseball player. You have to go out 6 days a week to play this one game. Football players can like it and like other things, and while their Friday nights are taken by games in HS...it's 10 or so games and that's it. 2.5 months and you're done. You get to run every play, get to hit people, score TDs....
ahem: back to MLB. I get really into baseball from go (especially if I go to Cactus League) then April until end of May, check out a little bit until early-mid July for a couple weeks (mostly radio), and then pull back in at Labor Day. I catch some portion of just about every Brewers game radio or TV, but it is a grind. It is like keeping up with a soap opera. 27-30 nights a month.
Everyone knows it's a grind, but this is a good point and MAY be why baseball is waning with younger people: you have to really love baseball to be a baseball player. You have to go out 6 days a week to play this one game. Football players can like it and like other things, and while their Friday nights are taken by games in HS...it's 10 or so games and that's it. 2.5 months and you're done. You get to run every play, get to hit people, score TDs....I think that's part of it, along with 4 hour games, and being forced to pick one sport at the age of 8.
In baseball, when you score, the guy who got the hit is the star. You mostly spend your time standing around. And it takes half your year. A lot of kids grow up playing football and basketball - not because they're in love with either, but because they get to dabble in both.
The grind is tough in and of itself, but to endure it, you've got to love it.
Everyone knows it's a grind, but this is a good point and MAY be why baseball is waning with younger people: you have to really love baseball to be a baseball player. You have to go out 6 days a week to play this one game. Football players can like it and like other things, and while their Friday nights are taken by games in HS...it's 10 or so games and that's it. 2.5 months and you're done. You get to run every play, get to hit people, score TDs....It sounds like you are talking about HS sports and if you are I could present a different argument. First of all, I can never remember our baseball team in HS playing games 6 days a week. It was more like 3-4 days per week and the season lasted as long as the football and basketball seasons, roughly 2.5-3 months.
In baseball, when you score, the guy who got the hit is the star. You mostly spend your time standing around. And it takes half your year. A lot of kids grow up playing football and basketball - not because they're in love with either, but because they get to dabble in both.
The grind is tough in and of itself, but to endure it, you've got to love it.
Enjoy your 9-7 Super Bowl champion Washington Nationals.That's baseball though. The Astros were heavy favorites all season and had 107 wins, good for slightly less than 11-5 in the NFL. Just 14 more wins than the Nats.
Wild-card team.
.574 win %
In a 16-game season, .574 comes out to 9.18 wins.....9-7 World Champs! Woo-hoo! Reward mediocrity!!!!
Yeah, Joe Jackson should've been inducted into the HOF the year after he died. Ditto Pete Rose when he goes.I'm not sure Joe Jackson should have been made ineligible at all. He was not very sharp, and it's not even clear that he knew what he was getting paid to do. He certainly didn't play like he was throwing any games. Per Wikipedia:
Jackson's 12 base hits set a Series record that was not broken until 1964,[15] and he led both teams with a .375 batting average. He committed no errors, and threw out a runner at the plate.[16] Assertions that the Reds hit an unusually high number of triples to Jackson's position in left field[17] are not supported by contemporary newspaper accounts, which recorded no Cincinnati triples at all to left field. The only two White Sox errors involving extra-base hits were committed by Shano Collins, in right field. (Collins was never accused in the scandal, and in fact was listed in the indictments as a wronged party—the victim of $1,784 in lost earnings due to the actions of those charged.[18])
Some news accounts quoted Jackson, during grand jury testimony on September 28, 1920, admitting that he agreed to participate in the fix:[19]
“ When a Cincinnati player would bat a ball out in my territory I'd muff it if I could—that is, fail to catch it. But if it would look too much like crooked work to do that I'd be slow and make a throw to the infield that would be short. My work netted the Cincinnati team several runs that they never would have had if we had been playing on the square. ”
No such testimony appears in the actual stenographic record of Jackson's grand jury appearance.
.356 career batting average, hit over 400 in in 1911. Joe's glove was called “the place where triples go to die,Yeah, 13-year career. That's probably enough.
only came in 2nd in MVP voting
maybe everybody hit .400 back then?
Dispute over Jackson's guilt
Jackson spent most of the last 30 years of his life proclaiming his innocence, and evidence has surfaced that casts significant doubt on his involvement in the fix. Jackson reportedly refused the $5,000 bribe on two separate occasions—despite the fact that it would effectively double his salary—only to have teammate Lefty Williams toss the cash on the floor of his hotel room. Jackson then tried to tell White Sox owner Charles Comiskey about the fix, but Comiskey refused to meet with him.[25] Unable to afford legal counsel, Jackson was represented by team attorney Alfred Austrian—a clear conflict of interest. Before Jackson's grand jury testimony, Austrian allegedly elicited Jackson's admission of his supposed role in the fix by plying him with whiskey.[16] Austrian was also able to persuade the nearly illiterate Jackson to sign a waiver of immunity from prosecution.[25] Years later, the other seven players implicated in the scandal confirmed that Jackson was never at any of the meetings. Williams said that they only mentioned Jackson's name to give their plot more credibility, although he did not say why Jackson would have been paid $5,000 had that been the case. Jackson's performance during the series itself lends further credence to his assertions, although the game records show that he hit better during the "clean" games than those which were thrown.[16] A 1993 article in The American Statistician reported the results of a statistical analysis of Jackson's contribution during the 1919 World Series, and concluded that there was "substantial support to Jackson's subsequent claims of innocence".[26]
An article in the September 2009 issue of Chicago Lawyer magazine argued that Eliot Asinof's 1963 book Eight Men Out, purporting to confirm Jackson's guilt, was based on inaccurate information; for example, Jackson never confessed to throwing the Series as Asinof claimed. Further, Asinof omitted key facts from publicly available documents such as the 1920 grand jury records and proceedings of Jackson's successful 1924 lawsuit against Comiskey to recover back pay for the 1920 and 1921 seasons. Asinof's use of fictional characters within a supposedly non-fiction account added further questions about the historical accuracy of the book.[27]
Jackson remains on MLB's ineligible list, which automatically precludes his election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1989, MLB Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti declined to reinstate Jackson because the case was "now best given to historical analysis and debate as opposed to a present-day review with an eye to reinstatement."[28] In 2020, ESPN reported that MLB had shifted its policy and that the league "has no hold on banned players after they die because the ineligible list bars players from privileges that include a job with a major league club." It's unclear how this will affect Jackson's Hall of Fame prospects.[29]
In November 1999, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution lauding Jackson's sporting achievements and encouraging MLB to rescind his ineligibility. The resolution was symbolic, since the U.S. government has no jurisdiction in the matter. Commissioner Bud Selig stated at the time that Jackson's case was under review, but no decision was issued during Selig's tenure.[30]
In 2015, the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum formally petitioned Commissioner Rob Manfred for reinstatement, on grounds that Jackson had "more than served his sentence" in the 95 years since his banishment by Landis. Manfred denied the request after an official review. "The results of this work demonstrate to me that it is not possible now, over 95 years since those events took place and were considered by Commissioner Landis, to be certain enough of the truth to overrule Commissioner Landis' determinations," he wrote.[28]
helluva bunch of 3 baggersDude didn't understand launch angles
I have a powerball ticket in my pocket. If it hits big, I'll buy the two tickets for you.Cool. I'll take you up on that offer.
doesn't make any sense to meI'm not saying he should be inducted because of any other reasons than
a person's actions while they were alive don't change when they die
watching Nolan Ryan pitch for the Astros in the 1980 NLCSI forgot Morgan circled back to Houston again after Cincinnati.
Charlie Hustle playing first for the Phillies, Little Joe Morgan playing for the Stros
watching Nolan Ryan pitch for the Astros in the 1980 NLCSRastros wearing the Hawaiian sunset unis?
Charlie Hustle playing first for the Phillies, Little Joe Morgan playing for the Stros
i miss baseball.I don't... But I miss sports enough that I might even watch a baseball game right now.