AP It is September 18. On this date in baseball history, the final game was played at New York’s Polo Grounds (1963), Indians player-manager Frank Robinson hit a single in his final major league at-bat (1976), the Braves became the first franchise to clinch six consecutive postseason berths (1997), and Sammy Sosa became the first player in major league history to reach 60 homers twice (1999).
Your Saturday box scores:
Marlins 4, Nationals 1 (13 innings)
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- yankeesfanlen - Sep 18, 2011 at 9:10 AM
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Universe is down to single digits in “Magic Number” now, with 12 left to play.
Some things for Girardi to work on:
Using AJ, even with the Twins without the M&M boys, is chancy.
Cano needs to learn that it’s not NASCAR rules, you don’t lap other players
Keep 70 extra rolls of tape around for ARod’s bat
8 wins will do it, pray for the Rangers.
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- proudlycanadian - Sep 18, 2011 at 9:15 AM
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I will pray for the Jays and Rays today. The way Morrow has been pitching lately, the Jays need some divine intervention today. Cake rules! Keep up the good work Cano.
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- jetersusedjersey - Sep 18, 2011 at 10:01 AM
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I fell better facing the Rangers than the Tigers but I would rather face the Rangers in ALCS and crush them for some sweet revenge!
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- cur68 - Sep 18, 2011 at 11:42 AM
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Is it wrong to wish for either a win or a blow out loss? I want to see Mo get the record for all time saves, but not against my rooting interest. Petty of me, yeah, but there it is. Tell you what, he can come in with a 4 run lead. Until that happens though, Go Beaver Men!!
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- paperlions - Sep 18, 2011 at 10:32 AM
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Today’s word of the day from dictionary.com is:
pleonasm, noun:
1. The use of more words than are necessary to express an idea; as, “I saw it with my own eyes.”
2. An instance or example of pleonasm.
3. A superfluous word or expression.Of course, it has a little known relative:
pleolarussasm, noun
1. use of more baseball players than necessary to complete a baseball game
2. Superfluous pitching changes, double switches, pinch runners, especially after rosters are expanded in September, often leading to players playing out of position and the majority of the best players on a team being out of the game when the outcome is determined.
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- yankeesfanlen - Sep 18, 2011 at 10:37 AM
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Excellent – you win the interwebs for today.
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- cur68 - Sep 18, 2011 at 11:44 AM
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My reaction?
Wordgasm. Have a G&T, I’m buying.
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- yankeesfanlen - Sep 18, 2011 at 11:48 AM
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Is that offer valid in NJ?
Anybody around here like photography? We could move from pie v. cake to Canon v. Nikon. My answer? Reference Paul Simon.
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- Utley's Hair - Sep 18, 2011 at 11:55 AM
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CAKE and G&Ts all around!!!!! On Seisenta y ocho, of course.
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- cur68 - Sep 18, 2011 at 12:04 PM
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Well Len, that pre-supposes that lots of argumentative people are knowledgeable about cameras and Paul Simon. That being said, I’ve met a few professional photographers and I think the word “argumentative’ suits them really well. In fact, in keeping with paperlions’ word of the day, it’s indeed pleonasmic (see what I did there?) to say “argumentative photographer”. It’s like saying a “miserable, unhappy Orioles fans”.
Dare I also add that a gathering of Orioles fans is a “misery”, like a flock of crows is a “murder” and a collection of Royals fans is a “loss”? A collection of Yankee fans, you ask? A “smugness”.
So, to use that lot in a sentence, we have: “A smugness of Yankee fans, met a misery of Orioles fans & a loss of Royals fans in a bar. A murder of crows gathered soon thereafter. Len may or may not have been seen leaving by a side door.”
Oh, and since I have one, Canon.
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- APBA Guy - Sep 18, 2011 at 10:51 AM
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Congrats to the Phils on qualifying for the playoffs with that amazing winning percentage. I was telling my girlfriend that it must be an awesome feeling knowing that everyday your starter is capable of throwing a shutout. Here’s hoping that they let their opponents in the post-season come up for air once in a while.
The first team to make the playoffs, the Detroit Tigers, phoned it in yesterday. If they were jet-lagged on Thursday, they were hung over yesterday, and rested a lot of their guys against Gio. I’m sure they weren’t expecting their starter, Rick Porcello, to steam roll the A’s off but he couldn’t have filled his coaching staff with confidence either. You allow the A’s to get too many base-runners (a 1.77 WHIP for the outing) , then you project forward to approximate what a playoff club would do, and that result isn’t comforting.
And therein lies the Tigers’ dilemma: after Verlander, what do they really have? Scherzer and Porcello are both good young starters, but at this point they are not finished products, nor are they top upside guys like the King or Kershaw or David Price who can get out of jams against top teams with pure stuff. Both are capable of good streaks and bad streaks. Fister has had a string of wonderful results, but when does the clock strike midnight on his Cinderella story? I watched the A’s knock him around at Safeco early in the year. The tigers will have to hope those 3 have good streaks simultaneously, like the Giants pitchers did last year, to progress in the playoffs.
The Tigers will also take heart knowing the other AL teams have the same issues in their rotations as they do in their lack of depth, especially compared to the Phils ultra high standard. No AL team has a staff that is likely to shutdown their opponents, though all have a a level of talent whose pitchers could get hot and be effective enough for a few weeks. We won’t know who that is until the games are played, which is one reason I’m really looking forward to this year’s October baseball.
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- phillyphever - Sep 18, 2011 at 11:42 AM
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Phillies were the first team to clinch a playoff spot, not the Tigers. The Tigers did clinch the first division of the season though.
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- yankeesfanlen - Sep 18, 2011 at 11:59 AM
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APBA – nice to have your comments. The Tigers rotation after Verlander is really a wing and a prayer (sounds familiar to me). According to my well-informed sources, Porcello is of the Phil Hughes variety and Valverde is good only in save situations- long relief doesn’t work and Coke for two innings is suspect.
Conclusion – Five games series are always squirrely and the baseball equivalent of three card monte.
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- APBA Guy - Sep 18, 2011 at 3:05 PM
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Thanks Len-
Yeah, the Tigers spin on the short series is that opponents have to face Verlander twice. Problem is, they have to get to game 5. Their offense is much improved, but doesn’t match up to the Yankees or Boston, and the Rays starters are better, plus TB is seasoned by playing so many near-playoff games in the AL East.
And people forget that Texas can swing with anybody, now that Cruz is back, and they may have the most effective bullpen in the AL playoffs.
Still, anything can happen, and I think this year moreso than the last few.
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- raysfan1 - Sep 18, 2011 at 11:17 AM
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Go Rays! It ain’t over yet!
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- cur68 - Sep 18, 2011 at 11:46 AM
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Keep on believin’.
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- yankeesfanlen - Sep 18, 2011 at 11:46 AM
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I’ll go along with that. For today at least.
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- Utley's Hair - Sep 18, 2011 at 11:53 AM
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Way to go Phightins! That was an awesome game capped by the bats—this time Rauuuuullll—phinally coming through with the bags jammed. The Hawaiian, JRoll, Lights Out and Threepence come through yet again. This team is special and it’s been a great time watching them. (Though I wonder what has happened to Shutdown Stutes? And what kind of math does NBC sports use that says nine runs is less that three? Look in the notes at http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/44564991/ns/sports-baseball/).
But it sure was sweet to see Mr. Overrated getting doused by bubbly for the first time. It also goes to show how closeknit this group of guys is that they waited for him to get there before they popped the corks in the clubhouse—just like they did last year with Doc, Schneider and Sweeney.
Now, on to Red Doctober, baby!!!!!
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- goawaydog - Sep 18, 2011 at 12:32 PM
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Giants, whatbcan you say, they keep winning and are now 5 back with a 3 game series with the Dbacks looming.Pill hits two triples, Casilla does his B Wilson immitation in the 9th, With Cain taking the bump tonight, we can only hope the Giants bats have saved some hits for him too.
Congrats to Tigers fans (and to my A’s brothers across the bay, sorry you had to listen to those bottles popping corks, maybe it will inspire a better runnext year)
Congrats to Phillies fans
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- goawaydog - Sep 18, 2011 at 12:32 PM
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Giants, whatbcan you say, they keep winning and are now 5 back with a 3 game series with the Dbacks looming.Pill hits two triples, Casilla does his B Wilson immitation in the 9th, With Cain taking the bump tonight, we can only hope the Giants bats have saved some hits for him too.
Congrats to Tigers fans (and to my A’s brothers across the bay, sorry you had to listen to those bottles popping corks, maybe it will inspire a better runnext year)
Congrats to Phillies fans
