Vaguely disquieting forecast for Game 1, at least I'm under the roof...
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 14:19 (seventeen years ago) link
― polyphonic (polyphonic), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 16:59 (seventeen years ago) link
― fergie-ferg meluvulongtime~~~ (Adrian Langston), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 03:10 (seventeen years ago) link
The Mets, decimated rotation aside, in 7.
― Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 15:01 (seventeen years ago) link
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2006/news/story?id=2621119
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 15:05 (seventeen years ago) link
― Michael F Gill (Michael F Gill), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 17:14 (seventeen years ago) link
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/4344/cardinalscelebratejm2.jpg
― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 18:28 (seventeen years ago) link
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 19:17 (seventeen years ago) link
― maura (maura), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 22:28 (seventeen years ago) link
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 12 October 2006 11:54 (seventeen years ago) link
― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 12 October 2006 13:44 (seventeen years ago) link
I mean FOX, of course
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 12 October 2006 13:59 (seventeen years ago) link
a) The picture quality and data rate is astonishing. Maybe they're streaming an HD feed and this is boosting the quality a little?
b) We get no commercials, just a wavy blue background and "Commercial Break in Progress" on the screen, interspersed with INTERMINABLY REPETITIVE AIRINGS of Lasorda as well as two mooks in the MLB.com offices, holding their mobile phones up to each other in some disastrously conceived "ringtone staredown," using audio content from MLB.com.
Anyway, the reason I mention this is that the lack of commercials highlights how RIDICULOUSLY long each commercial break is, a duration that I suspect has been jacked up for the postseason. I haven't timed them yet, but it's like 4 minutes each. Assuming the players only need half that, that's 2*18 = 36 minutes tacked onto games that already begin at 8pm EST. Frank Robinson, look no further.
― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Thursday, 12 October 2006 15:19 (seventeen years ago) link
GAME 2, Friday at 8:05! Thank you, Rupert & Beelzebud!
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 12 October 2006 18:03 (seventeen years ago) link
― Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Thursday, 12 October 2006 18:21 (seventeen years ago) link
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 12 October 2006 19:35 (seventeen years ago) link
Nice touch with Bob Murphy in the beginning.
― Michael F Gill (Michael F Gill), Thursday, 12 October 2006 23:04 (seventeen years ago) link
― Michael F Gill (Michael F Gill), Friday, 13 October 2006 00:32 (seventeen years ago) link
― ▒█▄█ ▄▄▄ ▒█▄█ , Friday, 13 October 2006 00:35 (seventeen years ago) link
― Michael F Gill (Michael F Gill), Friday, 13 October 2006 00:49 (seventeen years ago) link
― Jimmy Mod is COMPLETELY MISERABLE SAN DIEGO (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Friday, 13 October 2006 00:56 (seventeen years ago) link
― Hurlothrumbo (hurlothrumbo), Friday, 13 October 2006 01:09 (seventeen years ago) link
― Steve Shasta (Steve Shasta), Friday, 13 October 2006 01:21 (seventeen years ago) link
― Jimmy Mod is COMPLETELY MISERABLE SAN DIEGO (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Friday, 13 October 2006 02:34 (seventeen years ago) link
― polyphonic (polyphonic), Friday, 13 October 2006 02:41 (seventeen years ago) link
― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 13 October 2006 04:11 (seventeen years ago) link
wha?!? A Superman Returns-Brando style resurrection?
I'm surprised Randolph was flexible enough to use Mota instead of Heilman in the 8th. They need at least one blowout on the weekend to save some bullpen bullets.
I have my 2 t-shirts, sweatshirt, hoodie and jacket for tnite.
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 13 October 2006 12:12 (seventeen years ago) link
mets in 4.
― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 13 October 2006 13:20 (seventeen years ago) link
― ▒█▄█ ▄▄▄ ▒█▄█ , Friday, 13 October 2006 13:24 (seventeen years ago) link
stenc, you didn't get there for BP? I'm wondering if they'll let the proles go in the field boxes for it (I'm afraid no).
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 13 October 2006 13:36 (seventeen years ago) link
― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 13 October 2006 13:43 (seventeen years ago) link
They showed him during their little celeb spotlight segment. He appeared to be exchanging fashion tips with LaRussa.
― mattbot (mattbot), Friday, 13 October 2006 13:47 (seventeen years ago) link
1. WEAR A BIG UGLY SWEATSHIRT2. THERE ARE NO OTHER TIPS
― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 13 October 2006 13:59 (seventeen years ago) link
“He wasn’t good. He wasn’t good at all.
“I think we hit the ball hard, we didn’t get some breaks…
“I say he wasn’t good at all. We just didn’t get some opportunities and that’s it…
“He did same thing that he always does. Throw a changeup, fastball and that was it. I just think we should’ve done a better job than we did.”
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 13 October 2006 14:19 (seventeen years ago) link
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 13 October 2006 14:23 (seventeen years ago) link
aka stfu asshole
― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 13 October 2006 15:00 (seventeen years ago) link
― c('°c) (Leee), Friday, 13 October 2006 15:09 (seventeen years ago) link
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 13 October 2006 15:13 (seventeen years ago) link
i felt really bad for the dumb chick in the mike matheny jersey.
― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 13 October 2006 15:25 (seventeen years ago) link
Keith Law: (12:09 PM ET ) I think the reason we had such a low-scoring game (not that I mind - it was nice to get to bed before 1 am) was the strike zone, which stretched from the Jackie Robinson Parkway to the Wantagh.
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 13 October 2006 15:48 (seventeen years ago) link
― c('°c) (Leee), Friday, 13 October 2006 15:49 (seventeen years ago) link
― mookieproof (mookieproof), Friday, 13 October 2006 15:57 (seventeen years ago) link
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 13 October 2006 15:58 (seventeen years ago) link
― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 13 October 2006 15:59 (seventeen years ago) link
― Steve Shasta (Steve Shasta), Friday, 13 October 2006 16:07 (seventeen years ago) link
― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 13 October 2006 16:09 (seventeen years ago) link
So, you're Tony La Russa and it's the sixth inning of a scoreless NLCS opener. At this point in time, you've got:
1) a faltering if not tiring starter nearing the 100-pitch mark and working on a scoreless string that probably adds up to the number of zeroes he put up during his entire Anaheim tenure
1a) Jeff Weaver, a guy who ends up yelling into his glove a lot as he turns around to admire the flight path of a projectile he helped launch
2) two lefties in the bullpen, rookie Tyler Johnson and veteran Randy Flores
3) Dos Carloses--Beltran and Delgado--next in the batting order, both with major platoon splits that say BRING IN THE SOUTHPAW (Beltran .247/.352/.482, a 220-point difference in OPS; Delgado .226/.311/.440, a 244-point difference)
4) Oh, and this: Beltran has a career SLG of .619 against Weaver in 42 at-bats, while Delgado has hit .500/.620/.974 off of him in 38 at-bats.
This isn't a three-alarm fire yet, but rest assured, if you don't pick up the phone, it may well be. The sample sizes are small, particularly the one that tells you that your two lefties have held the sluggers to a combined 1-for-8 with a walk in their careers. In the big picture of his career, Beltran's platoon difference disappears. Delgado's, however, is very real. In short, just about every piece of matchup data you have favors making this move.
Now, you being Tony La Russa, you figure that you'll get to do the same thing again, probably in the eighth inning, with whichever reliever you don't tap here. You made your name and fame as a manager pursuing exactly these kinds of matchups, and while the result--12-man staffs and endless commercial breaks for those four-pitcher innings--isn't pretty, you've reached the postseason so many times you now have to use your toes to count.
Seems like an easy decision, right? I pointed it out as something to watch for in my NLCS preview.
Except you're Tony La Russa, and you let Beltran jack it out of the park against Weaver for a 2-0 lead, and then after an emphatic double surrendered to Delgado and an intentional walk to David Wright, you finally bring in your first lefty, Johnson, to face Endy Chavez, a guy with a reverse platoon split the last two years...
Now, neither Johnson or Flores is anyone's idea of a championship caliber lefty one-out guy (or LOOGY, as coined by John Sickels). However, unlike your righty setup men--Looper, Brad Thompson, and Josh Hancock--they both average about a strikeout per inning, which offers some hint of their abilities. Based on WXRL, Flores is your third-best reliever on the roster now that Jason Isringhausen's season is toast, and frankly, your bullpen is so thin that the thought of hauling Sidney Ponson off of the nearest barstool for the purposes of ballast has probably crossed your mind. If there's a reason you're even bothering to carry these two lefties on the roster, it's to face the key hitters, right?
Tony La Russa, Genius.
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 13 October 2006 16:12 (seventeen years ago) link
― zaxxon25 (zaxxon25), Friday, 13 October 2006 16:18 (seventeen years ago) link
― mattbot (mattbot), Friday, 13 October 2006 16:41 (seventeen years ago) link
― polyphonic (polyphonic), Friday, 20 October 2006 02:54 (seventeen years ago) link
― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 20 October 2006 02:55 (seventeen years ago) link
-- fergie-ferg meluvulongtime~~~ (adelangsto...) (webmail), October 11th, 2006 12:10 AM. (Adrian Langston) (link)
LOOL
― (9ò_ó)-o Q(^.^Q) (Adrian Langston), Friday, 20 October 2006 02:59 (seventeen years ago) link
― bnw (bnw), Friday, 20 October 2006 02:59 (seventeen years ago) link
http://www.celiahammond.org/images/pagemaster/fiv_tom.jpg
― (9ò_ó)-o Q(^.^Q) (Adrian Langston), Friday, 20 October 2006 03:00 (seventeen years ago) link
though they lost, hopefully people won't forget how Perez handled himself.
― ▒█▄█ ▄▄▄ ▒█▄█ , Friday, 20 October 2006 03:00 (seventeen years ago) link
― I AM AIDS CAT (Adrian Langston), Friday, 20 October 2006 03:01 (seventeen years ago) link
-- chakra khan chakra khan (mikeoptin...) (webmail), October 9th, 2006 12:20 PM. (sanskrit) (link)
oh wait, AWESOME. but still, fuck the Cards.
― ▒█▄█ ▄▄▄ ▒█▄█ , Friday, 20 October 2006 03:01 (seventeen years ago) link
― (9ò_ó)-o Q(^.^Q) (Adrian Langston), Friday, 20 October 2006 03:07 (seventeen years ago) link
query: why is larussa wearing clown shoes
― (9ò_ó)-o Q(^.^Q) (Adrian Langston), Friday, 20 October 2006 03:08 (seventeen years ago) link
(anyway, mets would have lost to tigers in 6 with El Dookie or 5 without him, but still, go down swingin' pussies)
― timmy tannin (pompous), Friday, 20 October 2006 03:32 (seventeen years ago) link
― bnw (bnw), Friday, 20 October 2006 04:47 (seventeen years ago) link
― Mr. Que (Mr.Que), Friday, 20 October 2006 10:44 (seventeen years ago) link
Note to Omar: GET ONE BENCH.
timmy tannin, you kinda deserve your name. Also, you dipshits who think you know what woulda/will happen in short series, sit-n-spin.
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 20 October 2006 11:57 (seventeen years ago) link
http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=5636
8:44 p.m.: McCarver informs us that David Eckstein, "has 20 digits--10 fingers and 10 toes." I swear to God I did not just make that up.
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 20 October 2006 12:06 (seventeen years ago) link
― maura (maura), Friday, 20 October 2006 12:42 (seventeen years ago) link
― maura (maura), Friday, 20 October 2006 12:43 (seventeen years ago) link
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 20 October 2006 13:00 (seventeen years ago) link
― GILLY'S BAGG'EAR VANCE OF COUPARI (Ex Leon), Friday, 20 October 2006 13:04 (seventeen years ago) link
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 20 October 2006 13:45 (seventeen years ago) link
newspapers: IT'S OVERtv news: OMG CHAVEZ CATCH OMG CHAVEZ CATCH
― ▒█▄█ ▄▄▄ ▒█▄█ , Friday, 20 October 2006 17:53 (seventeen years ago) link
― gear (gear), Friday, 20 October 2006 18:04 (seventeen years ago) link
Now we can read Slap-Rod trade rumors for 4 months.
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 20 October 2006 18:40 (seventeen years ago) link
― ▒█▄█ ▄▄▄ ▒█▄█ , Friday, 20 October 2006 20:31 (seventeen years ago) link
Got to hand it to the Cards though, Suppon was in total control, and the Mets could not get a hit to save their season (4 walks to Delgado and no hits for Reyes/Lo Duca.) With all the talk of the starting pitching, both Maine and Perez came through big time though. And I'm still shocked at Chavez's catch. How the hell did he keep the ball in his glove when his hand nearly whiplashed forward over the fence back into the park?
― Michael F Gill (Michael F Gill), Saturday, 21 October 2006 00:03 (seventeen years ago) link
― Michael F Gill (Michael F Gill), Saturday, 21 October 2006 09:15 (seventeen years ago) link
Best thing about Games 6 & 7: They dressed like the Mets. Blue caps and pinstripes only, pls.
This stuff affects me much less than it did even in my 20s. When hstencil said "Sorry about [Thursday] night" to me, I had to think for 3 seconds what he meant.
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 21 October 2006 14:48 (seventeen years ago) link
― mookieproof (mookieproof), Saturday, 21 October 2006 22:58 (seventeen years ago) link
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CvJovovWEAAMJYf.jpg
― mookieproof, Wednesday, 19 October 2016 18:38 (seven years ago) link