The ubiquitous “Smoakland” signs greeted the Blue Jays on their bus into town as the rampant wildfire smoke surely caught their eye on their flight in. I just drove back from Tuolumne Meadows and it was nigh apocalyptic all the way from the Sierras to around Pleasanton.
"Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."312 thoughts on “Corvids: You’re Smoking In It”
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I choose to believe the A’s too were off the grid the last three days.
i was. thank goodness
Not sure about Jackson’s strategy of starting every batter 2-0
they are never going to get an acceptable package
You don’t think something centered around Chris Hatcher gets it done?
hatcher dull and boog powell?
From 40K feet the ground disappeared out at Battle Mountain. I can’t smell it here at home but the haze is pretty thick. Fires north, west and south, I don’t see that improving anytime soon.
Man, it’s good to have Roy Steele drop by but that’s not the Roy voice I remember.
The smoke came and went in the high country but oh man from around 6000 feet down to Altamont Pass was just a blanket. Didn’t need a hat on a >90° July day, never saw that before.
It happens a few days every year at Tahoe, but this time there are so many major fires in different directions, wind shifts don’t matter all that much and we’ll be getting smoke from one place or another for quite a few days to come.
i keep reflexively leaving the room as the third out is recorded. I have gone to the headphones so my device can stay in my pocket
roy, we need you to take a breath for the PXP
It’s a great tribute to Bill, but a Blue Jays fan tuning in to this on MLB.com or SiriusXM would be driven nuts by this.
This A’s Access thing sounds amazing. It’s quite an imaginative way to speak to former or would-be season ticket holders (like me) who now find it easier and cheaper to pick up their +/- 20 games a la carte. Add 2018 postseason rights and I do believe I’m all in.
Totally agree. I’m super excited about it!
this ken preist stuff is good
He was my favorite guest!
Ouch.
As many runs in 4 innings at the Coliseum as they scored all weekend in Coors Field…naturally.
I’m ok with passing on Estrada and Granderson as trade targets.
Nats are “listening” on Harper….
Thanks, and go As.
lynn to yankees, do they dump gray?
He’s about the only one who interests me.
I dunno, there’s this thesis that Sonny just can’t pitch in New York but he was struggling for quite a while in Oakland before the trade and happened to string together some good starts at just the right time for Beane/Forst.
its not that its new york, but the Yankee philosophy for having him not throw fastballs.
I do’t I don’t want him pitching to phegley, though
I’m not at all confident that he’d be good, more of a reflection on the other starter names getting tossed around.
Gray is an upgrade and shouldn’t cost much
I had never considered the possibility that it would have been Ray’s turn to call PxP in the 10th inning of Game 20 of the winning streak, and Ray says he never considered doing it either.
my at bat has cut out
Same. As you know.
MLB customer service bot told me to watch the BJ feed. I love explaining their product to them
Video back up
Maybe he can call PxP for the 20th run of this game.
I’d just as soon not use Treinen in a 7-run game.
get casilla up
Smolinski could most likely bring this one to the house.
Jaime Garcia might be available.
Yangervis?
Teoscar?
Kendrys?
Aledmys?
What is this, Fighting Baseball?
Where are Bobson Dugnutt and Sleve McDichael?
5 back with 2 months to go.
With Altuve and Correa on the shelf.
No I want him.
Ramon Laureano (24-year old outfielder the A’s got from the Astros in the offseason) is hitting .286/.381/.514 in his first stint in AAA after being injured for the first couple of months. He’s also 11 for 13 on steal attempts.
Looks like a pretty solid pickup who could contribute.
Laureano by month: (out), .611, .738, 1.122
There isn’t really a spot for him now, but it would not surprise me if he ends up getting some major league playing time this year.
Neuse by month: .401, .554, .749, .806
He probably still needs some time to develop given that hitting is his best tool (and has even less of a spot open, with Chapman at 3rd and Khris at DH) but it’s good to see that he has recovered from the rough start.
Barreto also having a pretty good year in between the stints of sitting on the major league bench, and is still only 22.
I remain fascinated by this Eli White dude in AA. 11th Round pick without much fanfare, not a ton of power, but a .410 OBP with a .321 AVG, and he’s played at 2B, SS, 3B, and CF.
I don’t know if it’s really a type, but I see that stat line and worry that he’s a slap hitter with good strike zone judgement but good (AAA, ML) pitchers won’t be afraid to throw in the zone and his walk rate will plummet.
The Billy Burns type.
That certainly may be true. But White has at least some power. Eight homers, seven triples, and 23 doubles this year.
Damnit, Indians get Leonys Martin
Who needs him when we have the great Nick Martini?
Martini’s fine. I want to replace Fowler.
Going through jail until after the deadline passes. I better see a starter or a lefty or a centerfield when I get out
Safeco Field, where crappy-hitting outfielders go to die. I doubt Maybin is as much of an upgrade over Heredia as they think.
Also on that:
Supposedly Cano will play 1B for the rest of the regular season, which will KO Ryon Healy.
Looking at this a little more, we know Healy doesn’t walk so OBP follows batting average into the dumper, and OBP is .273. I assume 348 PA is enough to wash out most of the BABIP effect. My general impression from seeing a few of their games was that Healy had improved some defensively, but defensive WAR is saying he still sucks.
He’s a barely passable defensive first baseman who can’t get on base to save his life but will hit the living poop out of a ball 30-35 times a year.
He is what we thought he was.
Which makes Brett the bullpen lefty Ed wanted (until he breaks obviously).
When has that ever not worked out, especially in the playoffs?
Also, regardless of whether we get Fiers or not, I’ll believe Anderson is out of the rotation when Anderson is no longer in the rotation.
Fiers’ remaining contract is what’s left of $6 million this year. I think he’s arb eligible next year. They can’t possibly be so cheap as to pass for that reason. The haggling must be over prospects.
No I think it’s pretty clear that money is an issue for this team. There were reports that Familia’s contract was an issue too – ownership was generous enough to approve the remaining 3 million on his contract, but an extra 2 million from Fiers on top of that is apparently too much.
Honestly that’s fucking disgusting and Fischer should sell if he’s going to be that much of a cheap bastard.
Thanks, and go As.
It is fucking disgusting. Is running a baseball team really such a great investment that he just can’t get his claws out of ours? There’s no better way for him to make money he didn’t earn?
I don’t think Fiers is all that great, so I’m not going to cry over missing out on him. But an unwillingness to take on short-term money in the context of the low payroll, playoff chance, and marketing push is incredibly short-sighted and will probably cost us someone useful on waivers.
Yeah. Fiers was a big “meh” for me, but not being willing to raise payroll by a couple million, when your lowest-payroll-in-the-league team is somehow in playoff contention, is pretty disheartening. It’s also nothing new.
It’s pretty apparent that the sunsetting of the revenue sharing checks is a big deal. They’ve been content to collect those over the last decade plus while being passive on the stadium search and bleeding talent, fans, and market share. Now that those checks are gone, the damage from those four things is coming home to roost.
Hmmm….
…trust Slusser or the guy who declared A’s to San Jose done 5 years ago?
Nightengale mischaracterized Fenech’s tweet, which only said the Tigers “are close” on Fiers to Oakland.
Nightengale will Nightengale at regular intervals.
Stammen would be the final piece necessary to not use a starter in the WC game.
Great game in the front row seats last night.
We sat next to a German family touring the baseball stadia of California, with a father who plays 2nd base in the 10th level of German baseball. I discovered that there they have promotion and relegation, in the form of post-season play-ups and play-downs for the top and bottom 4 teams respectively. He was also complaining about the big-money antics of his team’s closest rivals, the Mainz A’s.
The Rays fans around us were fun too – lots of gallows humor, especially in the Keystone Cops 8th inning.
You can call them Rays or you can call them Jays.
“Some AL East team that’s there to play Washington Generals for the Red Sox and Yankees.”
Well I found my new favorite baseball team. What must it be like to root for an A’s team that spends money? I intend to find out!
Did you catch his team’s name by any chance?
Some of the leagues have that, the others have direct relegation and promotion.
Ramstein, I think.
The Rangers are trading their whole bullpen. Seattle has 10 games left against them. We have seven. The Astros are done playing them.
If you’re mad about that you can blame the A’s for exposing that bullpen’s crappiness in its full glory.
Kela is good. I think the BS against us was his first of the season.
so, nothing?
Roster was already perfect.
You really only need 1 SP.
Thanks, and go As.
13 runs on 15 hits in the first 3 innings … could be a long night for the Mets in DC.
16/17/4
19/19/5
Jerry Blevins keeps them off the board in the sixth.
Has Blevins’ stock fallen so low that he has to Hatcher it in a 19-0 game?
Maybe they wanted a scoreless inning for psychological reasons – it’s already started the comeback (19-1).
Jose Reyes’ 135.0 ERA isn’t helping the cause.
Whittled it down to 54, but also got hit for the cycle and then some.
25/26/8
VULTURE SAVE POSITION PLAYER PITCHING WATCH
Today
1. Jose Bautista – Jose Reyes held the Nationals to six runs on just five hits in Tuesday’s ninth inning, but he needed 48 pitches in the process. Should the Mets fall behind by 18 for a second straight night, Reyes will be unavailable
Uncle Lew in the house tonight.
Literally the first thing I saw when I turned on the game late, followed immediately by the Jays first run.
He was hanging around today hiding Fisher’s checkbook.
It seems like Canha has become the everyday CF as Fowler hasn’t started against a RHP since the Texas series.
Matty O! (swoon)
Apparently Red Bull has replaced (or supplemented?) greenies.
I heard Glen and Dallas were getting really creepy on Kara and it was somehow related to Red Bull. What was that about?
It was actually kinda funny. I didn’t pick up any creepiness but I was only halfway paying attention.
They were doing a bit about how Chapman and a few others shotgun a redbull before the game starts in the dugout. There was 1 on and 1 out and Braden made a comment about they should all do it too if there was an inning ending GIDP. Instead there was a lineout/throwout inning ending DP to Piscotty in RF.
They said close enough, and an inning later or so Kara chugged one on TV.
Thanks, and go As.
My brother thought Glen was making it weirdly sexual, but I wasn’t watching at the time so I have no knowledge of it. He credited Braden with abruptly changing the subject though.
Mike has all the facts and I didnt notice anything creepy from the booth.
That said I may have been creepy because I fell in love a little more with Kara when she slammed that Red Bull like a boss.
BTW that Giles appearance on radio reminded me that there was a question about the A’s leaving 95.7 The Game after the season. I believe Entercom has reached agreements with the teams so that the Warriors remain on 95.7 and the A’s go to 1550 AM The Game starting next season. The Raiders already said Musburger will be on KCBS 740 this season. So no more conflicts among those three. 95.7 and 1550 will usually be simulcast except for game broadcasts but there should be some breaking of the simulcast for some non-game A’s programming on 1550, “A’s Talk with Townie” or some such.
I thought I saw a kavak comment on twitter that a move in imminent
He was trolling 95.7 a few weeks ago:
Khrushed
Wow, this team actually pulled off a double steal?
And got Gibbons to waste his challenge.
I like how Martini doesn’t make outs.
I wonder if he is going to be challenged moer until he starts driving the ball
He’s driven a few.
Smoak HR?
THANKS AGAIN BILLY
Thanks, and go As.
Flashback to 2014:
Driving home from a glorious road trip through the American West (my kids still talk about the pancakes with Huckleberries in reverent tones). As the day is getting late we decide to sleep in Idaho Falls with the goal of being home to California with just one more day of driving. As we pulled into town someone (probably me) pointed out that Idaho falls is home to a short season rookie ball team, the Chukars (it’s a grount bird, we had to look it up too). And lo and behold, they were in town that night. With the late July days still long, we had plenty of daylight and given the long day in the car, we were all antsy to be outside. It was an easy sell to the group.
I don’t remember the final score to that game or who the Chukars were playing. I remember that it was a beautiful evening for baseball, warm and clear. I remember that the tickets were cheap and the beer, plentiful. And I remember that there was one player who’s bat caught my eye over the course of the game. We had a good approach at the plate and hit the ball eith authority. He was clearly a better hitter than any other player on the field that night. Over the course of the game he went from being just another guy on the field, to someone who stood out, to having his own nickname. We called him Rhino Horn. I don’t remember how the nickname came about, probably one of the kids came up with it, but it stuck.
It was a fun game but I didn’t expect that Rhino Horn had any real chance of making it to the Major Leages. As a guy coming out of college, of course he was among the better players on the field. Many of them were coming out of high school or kids from Latin America in their first exposure to the US. And as a 1b, of course he was a good hitter, but it’s hard to start the minors as a 1b and expect to make it to the bigs without being and absolute tremendous hitter.
Still it was a neat feeling to have seen a player on what amounts to the extreme back lots of baseball and to pick him out of a crowd without any previous expectations or knowledge about him. As a result, I’ve followed Rhino Horn’s minor league career more out of the joy of that day four years ago than any expectation that he would be a star. But somewhere along the way Rhino Horn turned into a pretty decent prospect. He finished that 2014 season with 14 home runs and a .444 obp in 64 games. In 2015 he found success again between A ball and High A, hitting 27 Hr across both levels with a decent .339 obp. Then in 2016, Mr Horn returned to A+ to start the season, crushing the ball and earning a promotion to AA where he again put up solid numbers. Things when backward for the Rhino a bit in 2017 where he when he was demoted from AAA to AA, exposed to the rule 5 draft (and not selected) and on the surface, again in 2018. His AAA numbers haven’t set the world afire although there has been positives in his increased walk and reduced strike out rate.
Well today it happened. Ryan O’hearn was called up by the Royals and started at 1b. In his 2nd major league at bat, he launched a home run to right field for his first Major League hit.
This is why I love baseball
That is awesome.
Thanks.
Fantastic story, thanks.
Glad you liked it. Seeing homer today was so much fun.
When I was a kid we stopped in Sarasota FL to visit one of Mom’s old college friends. I was dropped off at the Rookie League park one morning and watched a game with maybe 50 other people. Some old guy pointed out a teenager to me, Clint Hurdle, and raved about what a great player he was going to be. So I always followed Hurdle (who wasn’t unknown; he was a first-round draft choice). Hurdle turned into Billy Beane as a player, the “good face” but not much production, but of course he’s still around in baseball.
The good face, you say?
Can’t beet it.
Wow, I only really remember Hurdle after his playing days. Looking at his stat lines he was pretty good in his early days but peaked at 22.
love it
we’re planning our return trip from montana right now. idaho falls is in the picture for friday or saturday. anybody i should be watching for in chukars vs grand junction?
The best prospect you are likey to see is Grant Lavigne, who was drafted in the supplemental first. Ton of power, but likely a 1b, so he has to improve his ability to make contact if he’s going to succeed. Hitting well so far as a pro.
Also Watch for Nico Decolati, drafted in the 6th round this year. Has above average tools including some power but strikes out a ton.
Beautiful, thank you!
Astros up 3-1 in Seattle on a Gattis HR.
5-2 Stros top of 9.
The bit about Fosse covering Dylan there makes me remember how I was laughing at Charlie Blackmon killing time loitering outside the batter’s box until the money line in his walk-up song came up.
This game feels like it should be about 12-2 rather than 6-2…
…knowing this crap was coming being the reason for the ellipsis…
And the pace seems to have lulled our defenders to sleep.
vince likes to claim the “bullpen” or “defense” or “offense” is x best/worst in the league. But he never defines the measure. I am guessing ERA/fielding percentage/average, but I never know
Vince is the same age I am so I understand to some extent. “Leading the league in hitting” is assumed to mean “has the highest batting average among qualifiers”.
I was a little unclear, He talks about teams being 2nd, 4th, 8th etc.
But I suppose for hitting your explaination makes sense, but it bugs me that a professional baseabll analyst is a unclear and 2 uses antiquated references.
Vince deserves a lot of criticism but I think that’s pretty common in the pxp world (whose averagee age is likely north of 50).
I’m glad you think of it as “north”, said the Sierra hiker and bicyclist whose doctor told him today he most likely has torn cartilage in his left knee.
Ouch, sorry man. Gonna need a good hot spring rehab program.
Blah, the plan is to keep going until November 1, addressing the pain as we go. There’s plenty of time for rest and healing over the winter. I’ll only shut it down if I think I’m hurting the ballclub, but if there’s any chance of contributing I don’t see that happening.
In Red Sox tv broadcasts, when they announce each team’s defense in the top/bottom of the first they always give their MLB rank by fielding percentage. So useless.
its 2016 already
I don’t understand keeping Anderson in the rotation and skipping Montas.
Montas has options, while Anderson has incriminating photos of Billy.
with busty coeds and a fan of singles?
Anderson hypnotizes him with changeups and sliders that seem to hang in the air for minutes at a time, leaving Billy open to the powers of suggestion.
Kara just slammed a Red Bull like a boss and I think Im in love.
Familia may be trying to kill Lucroy. Ouch.
the mariners have 2 fewer off days than the A’s. I think theat is pretty significant.
Also, as ray talks about the red sox getting kinsler, I remember that one of my early season goals was to trade lowrie boston.
Ok that’s ridiculous.
he is ridiculous. I saw some guy on the athletic try to argue that bregman was a better fielder
Wow Chapman, that was amazing.
can’t wait to see it, it fooled ken
oh my god. I love that guy.
Solarte dogging it at the end ruined the highlight a little.
He reminds me of that kid you see in little league who runs off everyone to field every play because he thinks he is so much better than the rest of them.
But this is MLB.
And he is that much better.
Chapman’s arm is outrageous.
Just give him the GG already.
Thanks, and go As.
if there are votes for anyone else, its a snub
if there are votes for anyone else, its a snub
I knew we had something good defensively, just figured Chapman’s OBP would be ~.300 on July 31.
Nice win, fellows!
Seattle loses. 5 back, 1 back.
it makes no sense.
Just for you: 8 up on the Rays, 8.5 up on the Angels.
much better.
wait, I have to root for the angels?
Not much. They only play Seattle four more times and Houston six. We get them nine more times.
The concern being that the Bills, yes the FKing Buffalo Bills, made the playoffs this year.
And England won a penalty shootout.
And Panama made the World Cup.
too soon.
Thanks, and go As.
We haven’t forgotten 1950.
The topic on the flagship just now was what would be more “impactful” in the next offseason: Harper signing with the Giants or Kevin Durant re-signing with the Warriors.
Are there people who listen to this on purpose, instead of accidentally leaving it on in the car after listening to the A’s game the night before? This is a workable programming model?
Most of the Giants fans I know arent even paying attention to them at this point. It is a distraction if there is nothing better to do. And these are real fans, not someone who jumped on in 2010. I guess I just dont understand radio.
I just don’t understand why a Giants fan would ever even turn on 95.7 during baseball season. Maybe they leave it on accidentally during Warriors season, but otherwise they are listening to KNBR, right? I get talking incessantly about football — all of you insane people love that garbage — but Giants talk seems like a dead end for them.
I think your disconnect has less to do with the Giants and more with the mindset of the talk radio listener, who as I understand it craves babbling nonsense because it (falsely) assures the listener that he’s smarter.
Case in point: Chris Townsend last night trying to make a case for Khris Davis as an MVP contender.
LOL. Even if you don’t care about fielding, just look at DHs, and know nothing about advanced stats, you can still compare him to JD Martinez and see that Khris comes up short by 3 HR, 5 RBI (fewer than I would have guessed), and 68 points of batting average.
There are years where no position players really stand out so you can make a crazy, “the award is most valuable and where would team x be without player y” case for someone off the board without it being completely laughable. This is not one of those years in the AL.
To be fair, even Townie seemed to recognize halfway through the hot take that it was bad. By the end it had petered out to “he has to get some votes!”
And even then, both the stats and the eyeball test would rate Chapman as the team’s MVP by a sizeable margin.
Davis is currently the American League leader in fielding.
How is that even a conversation? It’s Durant.
How? They’re morons.
Mets announcers just now on Tommy Milone:
Ron Darling: That’s not a guy who can throw it through a brick wall. Maybe not even a pane of glass.
Gary Cohen: A piece of wet cardboard?
(Tommy has struck out six Mets through three scoreless)
7 IP, 3H, 1R, 9K, 0BB
Atta boy, Tommy
DFA for glove-tossing/glaring seems extreme – any interest in Shawn Kelley?
I’d be down.
Heh
The kicker of John Shea’s notebook column today, regarding whether Luzardo could pitch in the bigs this year:
Baseball is really testing my abilities to keep loving it with the bullshit that all the teams do to their players, and ultimately to themselves.
I think in this case they’re looking out for the kid. The bullshit will be if he isn’t in the Oakland rotation in April.
I think it might be fun and a useful exercise to add him to the roster and have him be a setember call up LOOOGY.
I don’t think losing boog powell is a terrible thing, but I don’t run the club and the A’s front office probably thinks differently.
He should be up here in Sept even if we state flat out he will never pitch. They say seeing a pennant race is good and he should be around the guys to be familiar with everyone in advance of spring.
How does what’s best for him change on September 1?
I think the idea is to give him a few innings, maybe 1 or 2 starts in AAA, then shut him down. I don’t think he plays after Aug 15
Yep. I’m not sure this is the worst example as Luzardo is just 20, started the season in A+, and has already doubled his innings over last year. That said, the greed exhibited by the owners at the expense of players, fans, and taxpayers is mind boggling. I hope to watch a lot more Cal baseball next season.
not sure college basketball is the antidote to greedy team owners.
Baseball, and you might be right, but at least I’m paying less, have a shorter drive, better parking, better seats.
i don’t read well. It says it right there.
There’s nothing wrong with throwing 135 pitches in a game.
3 times in 4 days.
Thanks, and go As.
Death to the NCAA.
Sunday we got to take our grandson to his first ever baseball game. Not a Sox game at Fenway, but a playoff game of the Cape Cod League between the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox (#1) and the Brewster Whitecaps (#8). I was rooting for Brewster because ms. s & I saw our first CCBL game in Brewster several years ago, plus they have two Cal players on their team, including Darren Baker. The game was at the Y-D home field at the local high school, the parking lot packed and lots of people out in their folding chairs, most seeking shade but some hardy fans sitting in the 90 degree sun in the bleachers. A giant osprey nest topped one of the light towers in the parking lot, and from time to time you could spot a bird circling in with a fish in its talons. Nothing but blue sky and some puffy clouds, and we’d already had our fried clams and soft serve ice cream. Top of the second, the Whitecaps get the bases loaded and Cameron Eden (SS Cal) stroked a bases-clearing double, and later scored to make it 4-0. We spent most of the rest of the few innings we stayed chasing the almost-3-year old around and letting him watch some bigger kids pitch and catch. I had to check back later, and darned if the Whitecaps didn’t end up pulling the upset in the series and are now off to play Chatham in the semis. Meanwhile, Andrew Vaughn was tearing up the league leading the Wareham Gatemen to the top until he left to play for Team USA. So yeah, let’s go to some Cal games next year, and you bet I’ll be watching those guys as they go up through the ranks.
it was so miserable and hot and full of mosqitos
It is incredibly hot here, but mosquitos? Feh, this former Minnesotan laughs at the notion they are a bother here.
I’m going to be out in Yarmouth Port for a week starting on Saturday. I think the Cape League season will be over though…
They’ve been playing 2 out of 3 in the playoffs, so you may get a finals game.
What’s the opposite of kryptonite?
Popeye’s spinach
Thought I’d jinxed it there for a minute.
Bought an 805 in the stands. I don’t really like them but I want them to stop selling colors and bud light
Even if they’re required to sell macrobrews, they could at least include one bought-out craft brewery (Goose Island, Lagunitas, Ballast Point, …)
That’s what 805 is (Firestone Walker, bought by Duvel).
The “good” was implicit.
I don’t often use the word “hero,” but…
I really hate the 805 radio commercials “The only way to enjoy and A’s game is with an 805 in hand.” Fuck off
3-0 Houston behind Keuchel
It’s really hard to think of Manaea as anything other than a #3, #4 starter when he’s tossing 88-89 mph fastballs.
Which is tough because he’s the only legit SP we have.
Thanks, and go As.
More importantly and semi-related, he needs to get those K’s up. 6.1 K/9 just ain’t gonna cut it when half the league is striking out half the time. I can live with the HR/9 and the BB/9 is great.
I’m not booing, I’m saying Loooooocroy.
Booretto.
From the why does this never happen to me department:
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2789008-nj-brothers-find-1952-mickey-mantle-cards-top-graded-card-valued-at-1m
After today, Seattle plays Houston seven more times this month, including four down there right before they come here.
Sadly, however, they get four against these Blue Jays starting tomorrow.
I enjoy getting to change my allegiance nightly when they play.
Scoreboard watching is fun as hell, especially in the era of mlb.tv.
Umpires don’t have tattoos
Can’t improve on those already beautiful bodies.
Because growing up they all wanted to become cops but later realized they craved greater dictatorial powers.
Frank!
Last 10 games:
4 runs in the 3 games I attended.
65 runs in the 7 games I didn’t attend.
It takes many years of baseball watching to nail it that precisely.
Pleasure doing business with you, Blue Jays. See you next summer.
Now go kick some Mariner ass!
Laureano and Boog are both listed in the lineup for Nashville tonight, though I guess they can play tonight and travel tomorrow.
Laureano would be terrific.
Hmm, this suggests it is him, though they could still recall Boog tomorrow I guess.
Looking at the A’s probable matchups coming up, it looks like the A’s are facing 2 of 3 lefties with Detroit and Hill/Kershaw with the Dodgers. So with no Pinder, a right handed hitting outfielder makes sense.
He also has 19 games in CF this year.
Yes, he’s supposed to be a very good defender.
And he just homered.
hugs reported in the sounds dugout
been pinch hit for
Wow, that IS good defense!
Thanks, and go As.
Or possibly a deal for someone who has cleared waivers. They can call up Graveman and put him on the 60-day DL.
They can just put Gossett on the 60-day.
Jesus, Vince, two “how special is it” questions for Barreto? Hopefully the translator is improving on these before they get to him.
5 back, 0 back
so my post for during the playing of celebration did not post.
Hatcher got up and started throwing. just then, after the last out
Now with better winning percentage than any team in the National League. SO, just schlep yourselves to the WS soemhow. Easy peasy afterwards
It’s not even the first time that’s been the case. At one point the six best teams in the AL were all better than any NL team. The NL is such a fucking joke.
Is it really that they suck or is it that their competition is more balanced.
More balanced. The horrendous AL Central is skewing everything, including the NL standings, where every NL Central team is .500 or better against them in interleague.
Yeah, the AL is really feast / famine this year.
It’s that they suck. They’ve sucked for decades because they refuse to play grownup baseball with a DH, so their pitchers don’t have to pitch against nine hitters. It all ripples out from there.
I’m not unhappy we are tied right now, but after seeing the BJs the last 3 days I have little faith that we wont be a half game back come this time tomorrow. (barring some weird rain/roof malfunction)
the blue jays can’t lose every game to one team can they?
The Blue Jays are starting Tyler Clippard tonight. So yeah.
On the other hand, Seattle is starting Felix and he has been awful.
Wait, what?
Yep.
Also, wow.
Felix wasn’t great, but he got through five. I assume he gets another start.
good.
Also, wow, Dee gordon turns an ankle, and the Mariners turn a one run deficit to a 4 run deficit in the top of the 9th.
That ankle turn was weird.
It’s not so outrageous, Clippard’s last start was also against the M’s…in 2008.
He just served up a 5,000-foot homer to Nelson Cruz.
mariners sure like PED guys
Clip Art was not good, but he survived an inning. The Jays then got six scoreless innings from a guy they had signed off the scrap heap half an hour before the game.
I still don’t understand why they did it. Both pitchers are righties so there’s no platoon considerations like the Rays had most of the times they started Romo. Nor (evidently) is Clippard an elite pitcher that you necessarily want facing your opponent’s best hitters.
I don’t think this was a Rays thing. I think they were just planning to bullpen-game it all the way, but then the Hauschild guy just kept getting outs so they left him in there.
Burnley take an early lead in the 2nd leg of their Europa League qualifier.
… but Aberdeen equalize with an outrageous bicycle kick.
… and it’s now trundling inevitably towards extra-time.
Jeff, better late than never to the Matt Chapman party
the comments on the twitter post of the second solarte play were hilarious. the nay says chose either “aranado has something to say about him being the best. or Solate wasn’t running and would have been safe had he busted it all the way.
I did engage, unfortunately linking arando saying chapman is better
It kind of did look like Solarte weirdly gave up before he should have, and my initial reaction to the video was he could have beaten it out.
he did. I don’t think he would have made it, but remember, he was robbed by chapman when he tried to but earlier, he was probably just sick of it all
Feeding him to Mr. Wu’s pigs seems a little extreme.
New York cocksuckers!
Holder didn’t.
no outs, seven runs
Does Foltynewicz have the best English scrabble score name (31 points)?
Obviously not.
Rzepczynski (40)
Zawadzki (34)
Zastryzny (33)
Quackenbush (31)
2-2 in Seattle. A lot Canadians in the house.
its an easy drive
Second place!
via GIPHY
Thanks, and go As.
Ed, would you like to field this one?
its a common refrain. “if I was going to burglarize the house, why would I ring the doorbell first to see if anyone was home?”
i am going to be flying for most of this game. Does united let me watch at bat?
Based on my experience with United’s wifi, it won’t work very well, if at all.
If you’re in a former Continental plane you’ll have DirectTV with various MLB channels. What’s the flight number?
2260
Not looking promising.
I guess we doin’t depart until 9. hopefully ill get something in
Red Sox broadcast just now:
SIDELINE REPORTER: “Eck, Jerry, who were some of the guys you were close with despite being in the middle of a rivalry?”
ECK: “I don’t know about rivalry. I had a real close friend that stole my wife. How about that?”
8. Dennis Eckersley/Rick Manning:
1978 was a tough year for the Eck. He was traded from the Indians to the Red Sox, his wife, Denise, told him she was in love with another man, and that man turned out to be his best friend, Cleveland centerfielder Manning. Those facts are not in dispute, though much else about this unplanned wife swap (Denise and Manning later married) is murky. Cleveland lore has it that the Indians front office traded Eck because it learned of the affair and needed to ship one of them out, and since Manning had a cracked vertebra in his neck he wouldn’t have drawn much in return. For his part, Eck insists the executives knew nothing and that he himself learned that his wife and Manning were together only months after the trade. Regardless, Eckersley fondly mentioned both Denise and Manning by name in a gracious induction speech when he joined the Hall of Fame last summer.
“Fondly”? God he’s weird.
Eh, young drunk Eck was a probably a real dick. Good on him for now wishing people he cared about well.
I mean it’s weird that he “fondly” mentioned people that he, to this day, describes by saying “I had a real close friend that stole my wife.” He’s a complicated man.
Jacob deGrom is now 5-7, 1.85 ERA.
6.4 WAR.
lol
Thanks, and go As.
HOW CAN HE HAVE SIX WISN ABOVE REPLACEMTEN WHEN HE’S ONLY WON FIVE GAMES, CHECKMATE LIBERALS
He even drove in the Mets’ only run tonight.