Baseball 2016

Really like the new format for the HR derby. Much more fun to watch. Several of those guys got on some great rolls. Stanton is just a beast. There's something about a baseball being slugged out of the yard....

 

The Fenway experience is awesome. Good on you.

 

Dodger fans have a bad rep (some of it very deserved), but have to tip the hat for the majority of them giving the Giants pitcher Matt Moore a Standing O after he went 8 2/3 on 133 pitches of no-hit ball only to have a flare to right field stopping him from the no-no.

 

Giants v. Cubs has been torture - even today. The Cubs are nasty and the 2nd half Giants are, also nasty, but in a different manner. Good baseball and somewhere the Cardinals still loom for my Giants (and with a trip to SF thrown in). The 2nd half Giants obviously didn't read Dale Carnegie's works.​

 

We may not make the playoffs this season, but this won't hurt. Still a lot of baseball left. http://m.cardinals.mlb.com/news/article/199871026/randal-grichuk-cardinals-beat-pirates/

 

Can't believe my O's are still in the hunt with our starting pitching. This will be a big weekend as we play Detroit & the Sox & Jays go head to head.

 

Wow, I remember reading about the trade that was voided, but had no idea the level of wrongdoing. This new owner they have is horrid by all accounts, which is a shame since their ballpark is simply amazing to go to. For a brief time the Padres had a really good owner, went to the WS and a couple more playoff appearances, got the ballpark built, but was forced to sell when he got divorced.

 

Two weeks to go in the regular season, and somehow the Cardinals are hanging on by a thread for the the final NL wild card spot. After losing two, badly, to the Giants at AT&T, they managed to split the series with wins yesterday and today. They've been incredibly inconsistent, at least by their standards, this season, and yet they just won't die. There's no doubt the Cubs are a powerhouse this year, but that advantage is somewhat mitigated when the playoffs start. I know people are tired of seeing St. Louis every October, but I'm not. They're the only pro team I root for that wins regularly. And once they make it into the post season, regardless of how they get in or their form at the time, they usually elevate their execution. And we're starting to get some key guys healthy after long injury layoffs, not the least of which is Aledmys Diaz, who would've been a ROY candidate had he not sustained a thumb fracture August 1st. Michael Wacha and Trevor Rosenthal are back in the bullpen, and Matt Holiday might be back by playoff time if his broken thumb ever stops swelling for live BP. The truth is we might be better off without him, as we have plenty of competent outfielders. Another truth is we've been abysmal at things the franchise is normally strong in: defense, team speed, pitching, baserunning, advancing runners, not striking out a lot. We've also been good at something we're not normally good at: hitting the ball over the outfield fence between the big yellow poles. IF we get everybody healthy and performing normally (see Jaime Garcia, for example) it could be an interesting playoff dynamic. If we make it.

 

The entire family was present for the crushing defeat (glorious comeback) on Saturday night - good night of baseball. It's clear to me, now, that the Giants don't want to make the playoffs.

 

We stopped going to Saturday games several seasons ago when the Cardinals instituted "dynamic pricing." Basically means ticket costs are adjusted according to supply and demand variables easily determined via computer up to s week before a series. Saturdays are always at least double where we usually sit, even more if it's the Cubs. If we don't schedule vacation during the weeknight home games, we don't go.
This has been the first season in a number of years that we haven't made the annual pilgrimage to Busch Stadium III. I fully realize that part of this dynamic is the team's on field success. I'm willing to live with all of these dynamics if that continues.

 

If you have a few spare minutes to read an extraordinary article about an extraordinary man you'll marvel at the impact Vin Scully has had. Hard to believe 'The Voice' is finally retiring after a mere...67 YEARS as the voice of the Dodgers. How big is Scully? As said in the piece 'in a town full of stars Vin is THE star'. Yet his humility and kindness are even more legendary, enjoy:

http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/17595432/the-man-voice-stories

 

KNBR, the SF Giants flagship station, is going to carry Sir Scully's call of the third inning during the last game of the season. I think that's a brilliant gesture of respect and admiration for the voice of the arch-rival. When I lived in LA, I listened to bits and pieces of Dodger broadcasts JUST to hear Vin's call - it embodies "baseball" (spoken in the James Earl Jones' voice from Field of Dreams).*

A dozen games to settle the wild card dogfight in the NL - should be fun.

* I also enjoyed the manner in which he enunciated "Farmer John Hot Dogs"!!!!!