Baseball

[Vrede too]

The Brewers, but they had a good run. I maaay watch some of the Series, but don’t care who wins.

[GoCubsGo]

The Brewers, but they had a good run. I maaay watch some of the Series, but don’t care who wins.

Same here, though it should be a pretty good one. No vested interest, but I think BoSox in seven.

[Vrede too]

... I maaay watch some of the Series, but don’t care who wins.

Same here, though it should be a pretty good one. No vested interest, but I think BoSox in seven.

They sure dismantled the Astros after Game 1. Best regular season and 7-2 postseason. No guesses, but even a sweep is possible.

Eamus Catuli~AC 000101 010202

How long are you in mourning for?

[GoCubsGo]

... I maaay watch some of the Series, but don’t care who wins.

Same here, though it should be a pretty good one. No vested interest, but I think BoSox in seven.

They sure dismantled the Astros after Game 1. Best regular season and 7-2 postseason. No guesses, but even a sweep is possible.

Eamus Catuli~AC 000101 010202

How long are you in mourning for?

Go Bears!

[Vrede too]

18 innings = double header in one game. “longest game in the 114-year history of Major League Baseball’s postseason – 7 hours, 20 minutes”.

[Vrede too]

Losing just 1 game per series was their pattern.

A lot of people are criticizing LAD manager Roberts for pulling starting pitcher Rich Hill from Game 4 with Los Angeles leading 4-0 in the seventh, including lifelong slug "Bone Spurs" Trump on the day when a fellow rightwinger massacred 11 Jews in Pittsburgh. It sure didn't work out for L.A., but I don't pretend to know enough about baseball to criticize Roberts.

The contrast with tonight is interesting, though.

Bosox starter Price gave up a HR on his first pitch, then shutdown LAD for 6 innings, retiring 11 in a row through 6.
Bosox leading 4-1 in the top of the 7th, 2 on base, 2 outs, Price up in the order having thrown 76 pitches. What to do - stick with the pitcher to shut them down or pinch hit to hopefully close them out?
Bosox manager let Price bat - a weak ground out.
Price retired the side, including fielding a grounder - 14 in a row - in the bottom of the 7th, throwing less than 10 pitches.
Bosox scored another run in the top of the 8th, 5-1.
Price walked the first batter, taken out of the game.
Kelly struck out the side.
Sale struck out the side in the 9th. WS won 4 games to 1.

So, leaving Price in for the 7th and taking him out in the 8th after just 1 walk worked out great, but either choice could have been panned if things had gone differently.

[Vrede too]

Trump Administration rejects MLB’s posting deal with Cuban Baseball Federation

... While normally any deals between United States businesses and citizens with Cuba or Cuban entities are forbidden due to the decades long Embargo, Major League Baseball obtained the right to negotiate and enter into such a deal from the Obama Administration Treasury Department. As we noted soon after the deal was agreed upon, Republicans in Congress, particularly Senator Marco Rubio, began to take issue with it and pressured Trump to reverse the previous Treasury ruling. The rationale: paying money to the FCB is no different than paying money to the Cuban government and that, they argue, is against U.S. interests.

So the deal is dead and the status quo remains: Cuban players who wish to play in the United States have to make a dangerous defection, leave their families, risk persecution and jail if they are unsuccessful, risk life, limb and possibly a great deal of money due to reliance on human traffickers, who are often associated with organized crime and drug cartels. If players do make that perilous journey and establish residency in a third country, they can become unrestricted free agents. If they land in the United States, they will be subject to the draft. If they are intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard before reaching land they are, per U.S. policy, returned to Cuba.

Given how outmoded and manifestly ineffective the Embargo has been over the past half century plus, it’s hard to say how this ruling serves anyone’s interest other than politicians who want to appear tough on Cuba for their own political interests.

Assholes.

[billy.pilgrim]

Trump Administration rejects MLB’s posting deal with Cuban Baseball Federation

... While normally any deals between United States businesses and citizens with Cuba or Cuban entities are forbidden due to the decades long Embargo, Major League Baseball obtained the right to negotiate and enter into such a deal from the Obama Administration Treasury Department. As we noted soon after the deal was agreed upon, Republicans in Congress, particularly Senator Marco Rubio, began to take issue with it and pressured Trump to reverse the previous Treasury ruling. The rationale: paying money to the FCB is no different than paying money to the Cuban government and that, they argue, is against U.S. interests.

So the deal is dead and the status quo remains: Cuban players who wish to play in the United States have to make a dangerous defection, leave their families, risk persecution and jail if they are unsuccessful, risk life, limb and possibly a great deal of money due to reliance on human traffickers, who are often associated with organized crime and drug cartels. If players do make that perilous journey and establish residency in a third country, they can become unrestricted free agents. If they land in the United States, they will be subject to the draft. If they are intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard before reaching land they are, per U.S. policy, returned to Cuba.

Given how outmoded and manifestly ineffective the Embargo has been over the past half century plus, it’s hard to say how this ruling serves anyone’s interest other than politicians who want to appear tough on Cuba for their own political interests.

Assholes.

It's almost as if Obama never happened. Give us our country back.

[Vrede too]

Manny Machado reminded the world just how ridiculously easy baseball is for him with this effortless throw (article)

Video

[O Really]

Minor league teams usually have creative names - like the Amarillo Sod Poodles, the "Soddies"

[Vrede too]

Minor league teams usually have creative names - like the Amarillo Sod Poodles, the "Soddies"

Speaking of "Minor league teams" and "creative", when Chicago Cubs meet Florida meet soccer:

Cubs prospect makes defensive highlight of the year by kicking the ball



I see a big shoe ads contract in his immediate future.

[Vrede too]

Red Sox Players Are Divided Over White House Visit
Most of the team’s players of color have declined Trump’s invitation. The 20 who are attending are nearly all (Anglo) white.

“the white Sox”

[GoCubsGo]

More "White Sox" news:

Boston fans hang 'Trump 2020' banner at Fenway Park on Friday night, though others quickly rip it down

[Vrede too]

More "White Sox" news:

Boston fans hang 'Trump 2020' banner at Fenway Park on Friday night, though others quickly rip it down

No surprise that POSPOTUS fanboys aren't capable of planning a more successful action. You NEVER make your banner reachable from below by lay people with no equipment, and ideally not by anyone. All they did is announce the LACK of support for POSPOTUS.

[Vrede too]

More "White Sox" news:

Boston fans hang 'Trump 2020' banner at Fenway Park on Friday night, though others quickly rip it down

Real White Sox news:



Worst first pitch in baseball history

"or the best"

[Vrede too]

Report: David Ortiz shot, hospitalized in Dominican Republic on Sunday

Crap. Hang in there, Big Papi.

[Vrede too]

Dominican AG: Ortiz shooting result of mistaken identity

Terrible, regardless, but even worse if Big Papi did nothing to bring this upon himself.

[O Really]

Even if you think baseball is boring, you gotta like this.

"Bryce Harper hoses down Nationals runner with 310-foot throw from warning track"

https://sports.yahoo.com/bryce-harper-h ... 23138.html

[Vrede too]

Even if you think baseball is boring, you gotta like this.

"Bryce Harper hoses down Nationals runner with 310-foot throw from warning track"

https://sports.yahoo.com/bryce-harper-h ... 23138.html

"On the fly." No wimpy hops for Harper.

[Vrede too]

http://www.blueridgedebate.com/forum/vi ... ipe#p98782

Joe Maddon for President!!!

More than halfway done, good news/bad news:
http://scores.nbcsports.com/mlb/standings.asp

The Cubs are leading the NL Central by 2.5 games.

The Cubs are leading the NL Central with a .538 record, the worst division leader in MLB and tied for 9th best team in MLB.