jjnono

If, when you say "survived," you mean "barely hanging on," then yes, you're right. Still made the WC game, though... https://www.rgj.com/story/sports/2019/10/08/mlb-commissioner-rob-manfred-oakland-athletics-move-las-vegas/3911610002/

It's probably a stretch to call Terry Crowley a utility player, but I always had a soft spot for The Crow...

Stickler!

You're welcome. When your calling card in life is the pride you take in being the smuggest, most self-conceited member of a discussion board dedicated to the second worst team in baseball, you're entitled to your accolades.

You're a national treasure. May you be buried deep.

One of my frustrations about the current all-or-nothing, home run heavy, strikeout circus state of the game, is the way it's perceived by little ball players. As a little league coach, my boys (10 yr olds going on 11) are all enamored with hitting home runs, and striking out everyone when pitching, because that's the game they see and hear. The inverse lesson they are learning is that if they are not hitting home runs or striking out batters, they are somehow inferior players. And the reality is that, at this age and most certainly at later ages, many of these kids won't have the power to hit lots of home runs or strike out lots of hitters. At the MLB level, the game has so heavily de-emphasized the subtler skills of bat control, speed and defense that many kids get frustrated and quit the game. My own son, who went 2-3 last weekend with two singles (and who, like his dad, is not a prodigious physical specimen - my frame is much more akin to Harry Dean Stanton than Giancarlo Stanton!), was long-faced in the car, bemoaning his lack of power. The kid is hitting .450! And he's bummed. When I was in little league, though, and through HS into college, a had a good eye, was a solid gap-to-gap hitter who might get into an inside fastball once or twice a season, and if the porch was short, might be rewarded with an HR. But my bat control and defense allowed me to be an important and contributing member to a lot of pretty good baseball teams. I was able to ENJOY playing the game for a long time primarily because I had a couple of skills that were valued and important to every team I played on. And without being too hyperbolic, I just don't see that too much anymore. Every kid is stepping to the plate and trying to hit it out of the park. Lost is the art of hitting behind a runner, shortening up at the plate with two strikes, or working the count in your favor... or heaven forbid, just putting the ball in play and running hard out of the box. The list goes on and on. A kid makes an error on an easy two-hop ground ball and he shrugs it off. But if he grounds out on a two-hopper, he's coming back to the dugout with tears coming down his face... I certainly understand how analytics has changed the game, and that numbers don't lie. I am now just beginning to teach launch angle and keeping the bat barrel in zone for as long as possible with good mechanics, primarily because the state of the game demands it (as well as a few parents!). But analytics are lost on the younger kids, who are just starting their baseball journeys, and who, from my perspective, feel as if they have to excel in one or two aspects of the game, or they are simply not playing it well enough to keep doing it. And that's a shame in my book. Baseball needs to, once again, spread its joy and rewards more democratically among a wider set of skills and diverse talents.

With all this talk of "mastery of level," this entire thread is starting to sound like a Seinfeld episode....🙄

Living in Denver with a 10-year old son, Finnegan, we both root for the Rockies. I tried early to get him to root for the Orioles, but the distance and only intermittent success dispirited his interest. Right now it's all about Nolan Arenado, Charlie Blackmon, and Trevor Story for him and his teammates. But it's fun to watch him make connections with his favorite players, as I did back with the Orioles players of the mid-70s and the early 80s. At least he knows who Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray and Jim Palmer are! We went to one of the Orioles v Rockies game earlier in the summer - the game the Orioles actually won - and it was interesting watching him grapple with that. "I'm sad the Rockies lost, but happy for you the Orioles won. And I got to see Nolan hit a home run, so that was good." A pretty equitable take, I'd say...

Well, Fry did give up a home run in the 7th inning on August 17th, but it wasn't the record breaker and it wasn't Benintendi (Devers, who is like, what? 40 for his last 50??? He's on a crazy tear...)

August 17th against the Red Sox. Andrew Benintendi in the 7th inning off of Paul Fry. Hanging slider on the inside half... Benintendi doesn't miss it.

Kevin Gausman on the move - outright waiver claim by the Reds. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/08/reds-claim-kevin-gausman-waivers-braves.html

In a media age when catching eyeballs and generating clicks is paramount to an outlet's existence (MLB, ESPN, BleacherReport, et al.), being able to scream in large letters "Sets a New Record," "First Ever to Achieve...," or "Worst Ever!" is one way to get those eyeballs and clicks. It comes as NO surprise that the writers of those articles would jimmy stats -- without actually resorting to flat out prevarication -- to support their headlines... First Position Player to Record a Save! (since 1969)

Maybe Hyde means "for another team..."