Random Off-day Thread
by Jim McLennan on Jun 4, 2009 4:43 PM EDT
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Haven't had one of these for a while, have we? But it seems to make sense to have one today, for random chit-chat and to see if Randy Johnson's quest for 300 goes ahead today. At the time of writing, it seems this is not the case, with a delay once again holding things up in Washington [though I have heard reports of a 2:10 AZ time start now tentatively scheduled there]. Other topics for discussion
- Justin Upton = NL Player of the Month and also details on what he said to his helmet.
- Gerardo Parra = NL Rookie of the Month
- Buckner, despite his great outing, will be skipped in the rotation and won't go again until next Tuesday. Starters for the next cycle are as follows: Doug Davis on Friday, Max Scherzer starts Saturday, Dan Haren will then take the mound Sunday, and Jon Garland takes Monday.
- Mobile right-hander Cody Evans took a perfect game into the seventh inning in a 7-3 victory over the Chattanooga Lookouts on Wednesday. He exited after seven shutout innings, allowing one hit and striking out four without any walks. I'm sure paqs will cover this in more detail!
- Email not likely to get much response: "My name is _____, I am the Promotional Manager for ______ which is the largest online supplier of Keychains. I would like to send your company a variety of FREE samples of our New York Yankees Keychains so you can write a review about them on your website." Yeah, sure... We'll get right on that...
- I mentioned to Jayson Stark that Dan Uggla homered off Jon Rauch in both ends of the double-header in Florida. He dug into the books and found out that this has happened only one other time since 1970 - Travis Fryman off Roberto Hernandez, on April 13, 1997.
- The Colorado Rockies say catcher Yorvit Torrealba’s 11-year-old son and his brother-in-law have been released after they were kidnapped in Venezuela.
Feel free to discuss these topics or anything else that comes to mind, since there won't be any D-stractions from the team the rest of the day!
An oldie, but a goodie...
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I've got a good feeling about this one
I don’t think we need to worry about a bullpen collapse today.
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
ah yes
a day off from Josh Byrnes’ personal fiefdom…he should have just hired his brother-in-law to puppet manage, wouldn’t have been any more transparent…
I must have
missed the Byrnes Is A Tyrant meme, but it seems to be popping up more and more lately. Why do you think this?
Funny, Brown doesn't offer a degree in slut!
You only missed it
Because Josh Byrnes has executed many of those behind it, and had their heads covered in tar and mounted behind the dugouts at Chase.
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
Thanks Jim! We need one of these today. :)
Game’s finally getting under way in Washington – RJ’s about to start pitching.
Love the info on Justin and his helmet
Moments like those remind you that he’s just a young guy, playing a game for children.
We are naming our kid Emmetalie if we ever get one. The middle name is going to be Baseball. Does that work for you, hon? --Growing Up Cullen
Giants 1-0 up in the second
Johnson – obviously – in line for the W, but still early days yet.
"Win, or die" -- Marquise de Merteuil
For the interested
The Giants-Natinals game is on MLB Network this afternoon.
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
It’s the San Francisco feed, so I’d guess it’s the same as what you’re seeing.
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
Hmmm...
AHA! There IS an HD feed locally, it just wasn’t listed since it’s a rescheduled game. Rockin.
Tom Glavine: two attempts (2007)
Greg Maddux: two (2004)
Roger Clemens: four (2003)
Nolan Ryan: two (1990)
Don Sutton: two (1986)
Phil Niekro: one (1985)
Tom Seaver: one (1985)
Steve Carlton: one (1983)
Gaylord Perry: one (1982)
That’s everyone to join it since 1963
"Win, or die" -- Marquise de Merteuil
First baserunner of the game for Washington
Walk with one out in the fourth.
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
team behind,
in this case WAS, needs to bat five times to be official
Dukes on first, 2-0 count on Kearns, nobody out
If the FO is the focus of anything, something is seriously wrong with the picture ! - unnamedDBacksfan 2/20/09
Kearns walks
first and second, no one out. Belliard up
If the FO is the focus of anything, something is seriously wrong with the picture ! - unnamedDBacksfan 2/20/09
Belliard GIDP
4-6-3.
Dukes on third. Two out. Nieves batting
If the FO is the focus of anything, something is seriously wrong with the picture ! - unnamedDBacksfan 2/20/09
Nieves grounds out
Not final, but official
If the FO is the focus of anything, something is seriously wrong with the picture ! - unnamedDBacksfan 2/20/09
Ohhh I thought it was the 6th
Hey I was just repeating what the broadcasters said, I wasn’t paying attention. ;)
When Washington was retired in the fifth
I thought maybe I had a slow feed and you were ahead of me :-)
If the FO is the focus of anything, something is seriously wrong with the picture ! - unnamedDBacksfan 2/20/09
No I'm just not paying attention ;)
They DID say something about an official game but they must’ve said “almost”..
Johnson only af 62 pitches through five
Mind you, he has shown the tendency to implode now and again…
"Win, or die" -- Marquise de Merteuil
Yeah
the two Ks and two walks thru 5 dont bode well for him. I’m not watching the game, but dont expect him to go too much further
If the FO is the focus of anything, something is seriously wrong with the picture ! - unnamedDBacksfan 2/20/09
He never tumbled
“doing some defense” for us !!! ;-)
I cant remember him even bending his knees
If the FO is the focus of anything, something is seriously wrong with the picture ! - unnamedDBacksfan 2/20/09
[ I cant remember him even bending his knees ]
Except when stopping by to pick up the monthly suitcase of cash… :-)
"Win, or die" -- Marquise de Merteuil
True
Kendrick’s a mere 6’3" and doesnt believe in wire transfers ;-)
If the FO is the focus of anything, something is seriously wrong with the picture ! - unnamedDBacksfan 2/20/09
Only tumble I remember
Was when he fell over rounding second on a hit one time…
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
First
“someone” made a chalk outline where he fell
If the FO is the focus of anything, something is seriously wrong with the picture ! - unnamedDBacksfan 2/20/09
Ground out for the Nationals
Gets the runner to third, two outs.
Adam Dunn at bat…
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
Adam Dunn. Randy Johnson
Immovable object. Meet irresistable force
If the FO is the focus of anything, something is seriously wrong with the picture ! - unnamedDBacksfan 2/20/09
They just showed Brandon Medders warming up in the pen
That’s got to wear on Randy’s nerves a bit.
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
They said he's "warming like he's coming in"....
Yeah I certainly wouldn’t be happy leaving my win up to MEDDERS….
And Medders is pitching
Bwah?
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
Randy wasn’t even at 80 pitches.
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
With or without Medders
I’d guess Johnson’s chance to secure the win is less than 50%. One run lead, home team with three ABs – an awful lot can happen
If the FO is the focus of anything, something is seriously wrong with the picture ! - unnamedDBacksfan 2/20/09
I stand corrected
1-2-3 inning from Medders, including two nice Ks.
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
See the link
I posted above. That was the first-pitch grand-slam Medders allowed, to blow a three-run lead for Randy.
"Win, or die" -- Marquise de Merteuil
I missed your link but
found that game myself. Yeah, but Randy did leave ’em loaded for Medders though.
That's probably why they let him bat
Diamondbacks, former and current, owe him more run support, too. At least Medders came through on one of them.
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
I really, really, really
don’t understand why they’ll hold games sometimes, but not others. Those don’t look like pleasant conditions to play ball in.
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
And now
Medders going out to bat?
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
And has to duck out of the way of a pitch
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
He looked pretty bad out there
A terrible swing at a ball too far inside, and he stared at two down the middle.
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
Medders out with a baserunner
Affeldt coming in.
I really don’t think they’d pull Medders after ONE hit if this wasn’t RJ’s 300.
Sacrifice the bullpen for ONE guy's glory.
Yeah, that’s always a winning strategy.
The Arizona Diamondbacks: Invincible in 18 innings since '01
Runners at first and second, two outs
And they’re going to the bullpen again.
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
And bases loaded
Adam Dunn at the plate.
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
Full count
Randy Johnson is getting ready to make a relief pitcher’s brain explode by the power of his mind…
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
That was low
But it was a good call.
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
I think there are more Giants fans here.... LOL
They chanted “randy” earlier, they’re upset about this inning…
Oh, wow
Dunn Ks. And he was pretty sure he’d just got an RBI BB.
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
Giants looking to add to the lead
Second and third, no outs.
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
And two runs score
Brought in by the Source of All Evil, aka Randy Winn.
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
Okay, guys,
I know this has mainly been about Randy and the Giants game, but I have an honest question.
Do you think it’s a bad sign when the x-ray tech comes back and asks if you’ve had any recent trauma to the area he just x-rayed?
That happened to me today. I’m not looking forward to the doctors appointment in a couple weeks.
by emilylovesthedbacks on Jun 4, 2009 7:21 PM EDT reply actions
I think it probably is a bad sign
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
It's just a wrist...
The only thing that could be wrong with it would it’d be broken, and if it is, you’d probably know it. If it’s that bad, they’ll reschedule you for sooner than two weeks.
5-1! Winn scores
Looking better and better for Johnson. Not that Wilson’s completely incapable of a 4-run blown save (as we well know), but, he’s not normally that bad.
And before anybody says anything
as I know some of you are chomping at the bit – I know 4 runs is not a save but Wilson came in in the 8th when it was a save situation. If my memory serves, it doesn’t matter what the lead is later, it’s still a save.
Brian Wilson's erratic
but I’m feeling good vibrations for Randy right now
If the FO is the focus of anything, something is seriously wrong with the picture ! - unnamedDBacksfan 2/20/09
Nice K to start the bottom of the ninth
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
In case anyone is interested.
Gambo and Ash on KTAR are going to listen in on the radio? broadcast of the bottom of the 9th to hear Randy get #300.
Krukow will interview RJ right after the game
which according to kishi is on MLB.TV. I’m sure they’d stay for the interview.
Woah, what was that?
A smile from Randy Johnson in the dugout?
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
His teeth
are huge!!!
If the FO is the focus of anything, something is seriously wrong with the picture ! - unnamedDBacksfan 2/20/09
Aw
That 2-2 pitch looked good to me.
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
One guy looked like he was going for a handshake
And Randy hugged him anyway.
We are naming our kid Emmetalie if we ever get one. The middle name is going to be Baseball. Does that work for you, hon? --Growing Up Cullen
That guy was kishi...
" i'm sure you've been right on something at some point."
-by Larry on May 28, 2009 4:55 PM PST
What can I say?
I’m pretty huggable. It’s natural to give in to that instinct.
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
Yeah
I’m pretty glad that it won’t be against us. For a bit, I was worried that everything were going to line up that way. Thank you, Giants offense, for getting the insurance runs that let my stomach rest a bit…
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
It should have
But we blew plenty of chances for him to do it.
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
Last 300
ever
If the FO is the focus of anything, something is seriously wrong with the picture ! - unnamedDBacksfan 2/20/09
Doubt it...
I agree that Mark Grace said whoever it is isn’t in the big leagues yet, but I bet someone else can get there if they play on a good enough team.
If baseball redefines "WIns"
it could happen. But short of that, the competitive processes of the game (ie starters pitching fewer and fewer innings) make it extremely unlikely.
If the FO is the focus of anything, something is seriously wrong with the picture ! - unnamedDBacksfan 2/20/09
On the other hand
Pitchers are pitching longer into their forties. A 20-25 year career is not impossible. See Jamie Moyer, who has accumulated 178 wins after the age of 34. Hudson and Halladay are almost half-way to 300, and are only 32 – or what about Sabathia, 122 wins and only 28? At 15 wins per season, he’d reach 300 by the time he’s forty.
It isn’t easy, but then, if it was, more than 24 people in the history of the game would have done it. But last ever? Don’t think so.
"Win, or die" -- Marquise de Merteuil
Exactly
1st rule to baseball pundits: don’t say “never”. While I doubt I’ll see DiMaggio’s streak broken in my lifetime (which I expect has a lot of years left), I won’t say that it will “never happen”, and 300 wins is more likely than a 63 game hitting streak.
"I know a place where life is a game, and Baseball's really real"
Nothing's impossible,
I just dont think it’ll happen. The modern route to 300 is unusually simple. You need to pitch 4000 innings and win two thirds of your games (decisions). There were other routes, historically, like Daron’s dad who threw 5000 innings, but those arent feasible in the modern game.
Randy’s “formula”? 4100 IP, .646 W%. Glavine 4400 IP, .600 W%
The guys you mentioned have the best shots, and are outstanding workhorses, but none of em are throwing 4400 innings. Today’s game is too unforgiving, and tomorrow’s will be even moreso. It’s not the oft-decried politics of coddling so much as the game’s competitive evoluton requires innings be pitched across a wider distribution of specialists – that’s an inexorable, undeniable trend going back more than a century.
Could Sabathia throw 4000 IP? He might. Halladay might, but I’d bet 75% against either, and either would still be required to win roughly two thirds their decisions into their very late thirties. They need to have a second half similar to Randy Johnson – not quite that good but close in both quality and quantity, and neither guy is projected to be that good for that long.
I guess my main point is that the Glavine track is no longer available in the 2000-2020 version of baseball – where you throw 4400-4500 innings, win 60%. These guys will pitch less, and have to win more (as a %). Between talent, injury and competitive evolution, it’s just a deceptively small window.
If the FO is the focus of anything, something is seriously wrong with the picture ! - unnamedDBacksfan 2/20/09
by Diamondhacks on Jun 5, 2009 12:36 AM EDT up reply actions
Agreed
But (just to tweak an argument by its ‘but’) several other routes may be available. Johnson was 25 when he got his first win. Suppose that one of today’s young pitchers stays healthy and productive for another 20 years (I’m not predicting who…cough…Lincecum…cough), and given future improvements in sports medicine, longer. Said pitcher is also lucky enough to pitch for good teams, and in a weaker hitting anti-steroid decade, can win while averaging fewer innings. Is also blessed with good bullpens.
I’m in agreement that I don’t see any likely candidates, but when I first saw Johnson pitching in Seattle (coming over in trade for Mark Langston) I doubted his ability to win 10 games. So I remain open to being mistaken.
"I know a place where life is a game, and Baseball's really real"
Am working on a fuller Fanpost
Discussing this. Should be up around lunchtime.
"Win, or die" -- Marquise de Merteuil
Oh, and Jim
I, for one, would be interested to write a very insightful review of those Yankees keychains. And I’d like to have an assistant to help, preferably someone trained in the use of an acetylene torch.
"We can plant wild flowers on roof tops and be unorthodox urban honey pioneers."
So
how does one review keychains, anyway? “Yep, it held my keys on there.” “Nope, it didn’t hold my keys on there.” The end.
Well
I was also figuring on a test of how well they’d work as an impromptu flail in a mugging. We’ll need some ballistics gel.
"And that's not just a metaphor. We're actually building an umbrella."
+1
::visions of Kramer’s “sock full of pennies”::
The Arizona Diamondbacks: Invincible in 18 innings since '01
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