Comments on: And That Happened: Monday’s scores and highlights

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 19:08:09 +0000

Maybe he’s just saving his best guys for the offseason.

By: bigharold

bigharold — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 18:55:05 +0000

He pitched six scoreless innings. He did his part.

By: APBA Guy

APBA Guy — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 16:56:39 +0000

Completely agree. You wonder, if these two are so ineffective, why are they up? And why use them at all in tight spots?

By: moogro

moogro — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 16:30:57 +0000

If you lose the triple crown then you’ll have to be evaluated for MVP in terms that matter. One home run at the end of the season over Josh Hamilton is the tipping point for MVP? That one home run will make you forget inadequate defense as opposed to awesome defense, and all those extra bases the other guy got through stealing?

By: Loren

Loren — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 15:43:56 +0000

At this point putting in Tyson Ross or Jesse Chavez is basically the equivalent of putting in a position player to pitch. It’s waiving the white flag.

By: APBA Guy

APBA Guy — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 15:02:38 +0000

There is some serious puckering going on in A’s Land after Melvin brought in Tyson Ross in the bottom of the ninth in a tie game at Texas, with predictable results. Now the lead over the Angels is only two games, and the A’s are 2-5 on the Road Trip of Death. I’m not sure of the wisdom of walking Josh to pitch to Beltre. Sure, Josh had knocked one about 420 into the wind, but he’d also looked really bad on two previous at bats. Whereas Beltre had looked in complete control of his at-bats, including a 390 oppo job that had tied the game. That’s really not much of a choice.

But I continue to fault Melvin for nt giving the A’s every opportunity to win. By my count, this is the 4th small mistake he’s made since the playoff run has started in earnest, something I mentioned two weeks ago before the Baltimore series, that the A’s have to play to win. They need 2 of the next 3 from Texas. And no more of Tyson Ross in leveraged situations.

By: proudlycanadian

proudlycanadian — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 14:33:27 +0000

Omar Vizquel had 2 hits yesterday. With 2876 hits, he is now tied for 40th in career hits with Mel Ott. He will not pass anyone else as the gap is too wide and there are too few games left in his career.

By: Francisco (FC)

Francisco (FC) — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 14:14:02 +0000

The werid part is if Jon Jay were just an inch or two taller he might have gotten it in his glove and while a nice grab we would have been deprived of his Cirque Du Soleil performance.

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 14:10:36 +0000

PS – at least Scrooge McLoria didn’t wake up after his binge next to Natacha Seijas.

By: Francisco (FC)

Francisco (FC) — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 14:07:21 +0000

They just made it official, even if the Astros had lost 3 of 4 to Philly or swept, the Phillies would still be 2 or 3 games behind because they lost the series at home to Atlanta. The Phillies are in no way shape or form, a playoff team. Though if by some miracle they did make it and had to face the braves I’d pitch Kyle Kendrick against them.

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 14:03:50 +0000

It wasn’t rocket science. It wasn’t even the result of a seance. Even without predicting that Heath Bell was going to flop so spectacularly, I knew JJ was still recovering from shoulder surgery. I knew Ricky Nolasco was streaky and unreliable and wondered at all the nice things people were saying about the Feesh rotation. They didn’t sound like they’d been really paying attention to it. I looked at this team in April and asked myself, “so who’s going to drive anyone in this season?” I didn’t count on the Hanster, whose playing had been going downhill for two seasons in a row and who was now being asked to play an unfamiliar position on top of that. The Iron Giant was still on the mend and still very strikeout prone, still in need of plate discipline never mind his bad knee. I was never able to see Tweeter as a clutch guy, what with his horrible RISP stats and irrational horror of praying mantises. When did you ever hear of a guy with mantodeaphobia making it big in the show? Even though Larry Beinfest famously claimed that he was “not a .248 hitter,” the stats and the play on the field clearly insisted that he was indeed a .248 hitter at best. He proved to be less than that.

In all fairness, I never imagined that this would be a last place team. I thought if some key players had bad years they might finish third or so. Of course, the Beeg Doomp in midseason skewered any prayer they had of a respectable year. And if you recall, I also predicted all along that the Gnats were going to surprise us. Not this much, of course, but I saw them as valid wild card contenders. The one team in the division that really surprised me from the ground up was the Braves. I really didn’t think they were going to be anywhere near this good, especially with a cretin for a manager. Ah well. One of the joys of beisbol, for me, is that every season serves up a surprise contending team or two that nobody gave a slingshot’s chance against Godzilla of getting anywhere.

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 13:50:10 +0000

It’s always easy to discern a teleology in retrospect. I don’t think criminal behavior necessarily portends failure in this economic system. Far from it. But failing to go out and get an RBI bat or two and/or playing guys out of position all the time will kill your postseason pretensions graveyard dead.

By: natslady

natslady — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 13:09:45 +0000

You’re welcome. That is an amazing play, thanks for pointing me to it!

By: churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged

churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 13:09:10 +0000

Click on the link “More from this game” on a video, find the direct link there, and copy/paste to your heart’s content.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 13:07:43 +0000

Yes, ma’am. Thanks.

By: kiwicricket

kiwicricket — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 13:02:38 +0000

The Feesh’s season started with a disheveled Ali being paraded around, dubious dancers escorting the players onto the field, reality television series and a criminal investigation into the stadium financing…..I’d say the season ran along those parallels…Was it ever going to be any different?

By: natslady

natslady — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 13:00:02 +0000

This one?

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=25064597&topic_id=11493214

By: natslady

natslady — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 12:57:57 +0000

Didn’t the Astros pretty much knock the Fillies out of the WC?

By: paperlions

paperlions — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 12:54:03 +0000

Sorry, I don’t know how to find the direct link on MLBs crappy site, you’ll have to find the video in the list of highlights on the right.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 12:52:30 +0000

This also happened. Crazy catch by Jon Jay:

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2012_09_24_slnmlb_houmlb_1&mode=video

By: randygnyc

randygnyc — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 12:52:29 +0000

Nate- by “knows how to win” I mean he’s got excellent situational awareness, and success in big games. Phenomenal stress management. These are the differences for a pitcher with diminished skills, and why they can still win in this league as opposed to those who lose their stuff and don’t have the ability to make adjustments. Sure, if an offense doesn’t score a single run, it’s mathematically impossible to win. But since Andy hasn’t given up a single run, earned or otherwise, since his return, he gives his team a better chance to win.

By: lazlosother

lazlosother — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 12:42:02 +0000

I thought the Astros pretty much rolled over for everyone. Except the Reds.

By: nategearhart

nategearhart — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 12:41:07 +0000

Pettitte “knows how to win”? Would that still be the case if he pitched exactly the same and his offense didn’t hit those home runs?

By: El Bravo

El Bravo — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 12:36:30 +0000

Well Gator, I expected more from these 2012 Feesh, but alas, you know them better than I. Your reserved optimism, or muted pessimism, at the beginning of the this terrorific season was well placed. These Feesh just don’t know how to win and they spend cash like an alcoholic with insomnia and a TV. I’m sure Loria wakes up every morning feeling like that alcoholic; hungover, wondering what the f@ck happened last night, and why his wallet is empty.

By: kiwicricket

kiwicricket — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 12:30:00 +0000

Apparently not lost to them in 11years. That qualifies as owning them alright

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 12:20:19 +0000

The Feesh didn’t play last night, which is why they didn’t slide further into the basement. The S-waves from Heath Bell’s idiotic comments about Slobbering Ozzie yesterday continue to ramify through Spawrts Tawrk Raydeeo and the print muddier like Ozzie’s Castro comments at the beginning of the season never did. But then, while the muddier were busy inflating Ozzie’s remarks all out of proportion – or trying to; it never really got far locally, except to call out the Cuban exile dinosaurs like some Mesoizoic dog whistle – everybody kind knew under the voyeurism that the comment was empty of ideological infection. Still, what a pair of dumb remarks to bookend a season. The Feesh’s 2012 season, which opened like a structured series of attainable possibilities, now spreads at the bottom of a viscous puddle, at the bottom of the season – a time of orange uniforms, and empty chair seats; it is made of white, soft instants, spreading at the edge, like an oil stain.

(With apologies to Jean-Paul Sartre).

By: stex52

stex52 — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 12:17:36 +0000

When the Cards are splitting up their playoff shares (however deep they make it into the playoffs) I hope they remember to send at least one share to the Astros for rolling over for them in September.

By: yankeesfanlen

yankeesfanlen — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 12:14:25 +0000

For several years, in this forum of intellectual delights, I have downplayed the notion time and again that the Yankees are getting too old. Now, as a glimmer of suspicion comes into even my head, along comes Mr. Fiddley-Fart, Beep-beep, Chavez, Ibanez, Solo Suzuki, Jones, etc to do the job.
Never doubt your own cockamamie theories. What’s Moose’s numbr?

By: uyf1950

uyf1950 — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 12:09:25 +0000

Actually his next start should be against the Blue Jays in a few days.

By: wlschneider09

wlschneider09 — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 11:57:41 +0000

If he gets the Twins again in his next start, well yeah. He owns my Twins. Always has. At least it feels that way.