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Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL Style

Frayed Knot Sep 06 2013 07:43 AM

With the races in the East (16 games) & West (12) effectively being over for a while now, the action is all in the Central plus the outside shot that either Washington or Arizona (7 games out each) gets hot enough to snag the final WC slot. Pirates --- Cardinals -1.5 Reds -3.0 * Pittsburgh looks for win #82 tonight but, seeing as how they're in St Louis for the weekend, they kind of have bigger [crossout:61ex1wwq]fish[/crossout:61ex1wwq] birds to fry right now than merely worrying about the formality of notching their first winning season since GWH Bush was in the White House. Cards are coming off losing 2 of 3 to Cincy which keeps that division a three-team race at least for a while. Final series of the year between the two teams. Burnett vs Kelly tonight. * Cincy hosts the Dodgers for the weekend. Capuano vs Leake * Nationals are in Miami. DBacks in San Fran

MFS62 Sep 06 2013 07:56 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Beat 'Em, Bucs. Later

Zvon Sep 06 2013 01:10 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Over the last two weeks I have watched 2 Pirate games. I'm getting into it. Gonna watch more in the stretch. Im gonna squeeze in between two real Buc fans, take a seat, and celebrate vicariously when they clinch. Just to remind myself of what celebrating feels like.

G-Fafif Sep 06 2013 03:00 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Fine story inside. Best tidbit: the pastor who buys a ten-pack of Pirates tix every season but only for games early in the year because he knows people are giving them away by September. Nobody's giving them away this September. And he doesn't mind at all.

Zvon Sep 06 2013 03:29 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Fine story inside. Best tidbit: the pastor who buys a ten-pack of Pirates tix every season but only for games early in the year because he knows people are giving them away by September. Nobody's giving them away this September. And he doesn't mind at all. Someone will take care of that guy. So he's on the cover of SI in a pic that almost makes it look like he's breaking his ankle. If he was grimacing it really would look that way. Lets see if the curse of the cover covers that.

metsguyinmichigan Sep 06 2013 03:44 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Love the throwback uniform, too! Was that a one-off, or have they been wearing those a lot this year and I didn't notice?

batmagadanleadoff Sep 06 2013 03:50 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

That uniform takes me back to the roots of my baseball lovin' childhood.

batmagadanleadoff Sep 06 2013 03:53 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

batmagadanleadoff wrote: That uniform takes me back to the roots of my baseball lovin' childhood. McCutcheon could sure use some stirrups, not that I'm complaining.

Frayed Knot Sep 09 2013 10:09 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

The Pirates get to 81 wins -- and then promptly lose their next four while getting out-scored 35-13. That three of those losses were to StL made it even worse. You don't suppose ... ? Pitt & Cincy are tied for the two WC slots while Washington & Arizona, the only other contenders, have been essentially spinning their wheels at a time where they have to be not just making up territory but pretty much gulping it up.

Gwreck Sep 09 2013 11:38 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

That's the last of Pittsburgh's games head-to-head with St. Louis. The Pirates were 7-2 at home and 1-5 on the road in the second half of this season against St. Louis. Things don't get easier for them yet, as they start a three game series in Texas tonight. They do have 7 games against the Cubs remaining, as well as another 6 against Cincinnati, which may well be critical to determining which of the three NL Central teams gets the division (with the other two getting the wild cards, a 98% certainty per ESPN playoff projections).

Frayed Knot Sep 13 2013 07:31 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Well, we did our best to make the NL WC race interesting by laying down for the Nationals and allowing them to continue their hot last month (17-5 since Aug 20). They still have a ways to go but have now clawed their way to 5.5 behind current #2 WC Cincy while Pitt's sweep of Texas got them to a tie with StL atop the Central 2.5 up on the Reds. Arizona at 9.0 games back seems like a dead issue. Pitt & Cincy play each other six times more this season including the final three and six of the final nine, something that would seem to be an advantage for Saint Louie but maybe a disadvantage for the Nats. If you're Washington I figure you've got to see which team is better at the time when they meet and root for that squad to sweep all six games. The Cards sked features Seattle, Colorado (4), Milwaukee, the Cubs, and ... Washington This weekend is a bit of a mini-breather for each even if every game remains super important: Cubs @ Pitt, Seattle @ Cards, Reds @ Milwaukee

G-Fafif Sep 13 2013 09:17 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Washington pulls to within 4 1/2 of Cincy. Nats dead yet? [youtube:2ktgdis7]0Qth8xNZvVM[/youtube:2ktgdis7]

Frayed Knot Sep 14 2013 06:15 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Cincy has got to be hearing footsteps by now Friday night they were in Milwaukee while the Nats learned at the last minute that Strasburg would be unable to go due to 'forearm tightness'* -- but then Kyle Lohse threw a complete game for the 5-1 Brews win while Ross Ohlendorf stepped in with 5 innings of one-run ball backed by 4 shutout bullpen innings for a 6-1 win vs the Phils. I believe all six Nats runs came via Ryan Zimmerman & Wilson Ramos HRs but I'm still checking into that.** * Davey says that Strasburg's missed start is "a non-issue" as far as the future goes, but someone in baseball once said that ALL elbow problems start as "forearm tightness" ** Only one HR each as it turns out - Pirates lost to the Cubs when a potential 2-Run / 2-out / 9th inning / game-winning HR died on the warning track. - StL beat Seattle (whoop-de-damn-doo ... we could beat Seattle) in the 10th when Ollie Perez was brought in with two outs and a runner on 1st base. He promptly went Walk - Walk - Passed Ball To be fair to Ollie, the passed ball hit the catcher right in the center of his glove - but of course it's the fact that he put himself in that situation in the first place that's the problem. Ollie not having as good a year for the Mariners as last season -- but he still just turned 32 y/o!!

Mets – Willets Point Sep 14 2013 01:08 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

I'm tired of the baseball media calling for a Boston-Los Angeles World Series. I want a 1903 World Series rematch.

Frayed Knot Sep 14 2013 08:33 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Innuresting stuff in DC. Nationals clawed back from 5-1 down to get it to 5-4. Zimmerman doubles in the 9th - Papelbon gets two outs -- now they're intentionally walking Harper (aka: putting the winning run on base) to get to Ramos ... and Ramos smokes a hard one-hopper to Rollins and the Phils/Papelbon hold on. Tough day for the Nats with Cincy winning. After knocking off a game yesterday, now they're back to where they were only with two games off the schedule. That's the tough part about coming back from so far, you have so little margin for error.

Edgy MD Sep 16 2013 08:12 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Braves @ Nats: "Postponed, Tragedy."

Frayed Knot Sep 17 2013 02:20 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Sep 17 2013 04:11 PM

The Reds were yesterday's major winner in the NL races (Central and WC) as they gained a full game on the losing Cardinals and Pirates (Pitt almost got no-hit by SD) and a half-game on the Nats who were idled by a madman. The Nats are making up yesterday's postponement by playing a day/night with the Braves. In the day portion they jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the 1st inning, then got one hit for innings 2-8 while the Braves took a 5-3 lead In the 9th the Nats just scored three off Kimbrel to win the game - the last two coming via a one-out grounder going through the legs of Simmons at SS. Seeing as how the Nats have to practically run the table to stay in the mix, a win like this is huge. As it is, things are getting a bit tight.

cooby Sep 17 2013 03:06 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Go Bucs! It's been a long long time...

Frayed Knot Sep 19 2013 07:01 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Well Coobs, your Bucs blew a bad one last night. Three straight 2-out 9th inning singles netted the Padres 2 runs and a stunning win over Pittsburgh (blown save: Mark Melancon) Pirates have now lost 3 straight to SD and finish the series this afternoon. - Cardinals pulled to 2 games ahead in the Central with a 4-3 win over Rockies, but it wasn't sealed until StL closer Edward Mujica K'd Todd Helton with the bases loaded in the 9th - Reds won in the 13th in Houston. They scored twice in the top of the inning then held on while Aroldis Chapman gave one run back then finally got the final out with the tying and winning runners on. - Nationals had a 2-0 lead early but then lost to Atlanta 5-2. Coupled with the Cincy win, that just about kills their WC chances Cardinals now lead the Central by 2 over Pitt and 2.5 over the Reds Plus, Cincy & Pitt play each other six times over the final nine games, an arrangement which is almost guaranteed to keep StL ahead of one or both of them. Wild Card PIT +0.5 CIN --- WAS -5.5 ARZ -9.0

Mets – Willets Point Sep 19 2013 08:15 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Avast ye scurvy Padres!

Gwreck Sep 19 2013 10:10 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Pirates get a game back after the Cardinals lose in the 15th inning in Denver today. Let's go Bucs. -- If the Pirates and Cardinals should tie for the division, game #163 on Monday 9/30 would be played in Pittsburgh for the division championship. The wild card game would be Tuesday in St. Louis (if the Cardinals lose) and location TBD* (if the Pirates lose). *Pirates and Reds still have 6 head-to-head games left

Edgy MD Sep 20 2013 06:20 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

I'm not sure I don't prefer using tiebreakers like head-to-head record, divisional record, league record, run differential, like the NFL does. Not sure I do, either.

Frayed Knot Sep 20 2013 06:47 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Essentially meaningless (especially once you get beyond head-to-head) tie-breaker scenarios (best intra-conference record among common opponents times points allowed squared) as a way to determine seeding among playoff teams is one thing but using it as the final word on who's in and who's out should be a crime IMO. The NFL does it because they essentially leave themselves no choice; their whole schedule is so rigidly formatted that there's no room for variations. If there are five 9-7 teams at season's end but only room for three to move on, their checklist of tie-breakers goes into effect to select three and eject two simply for convenience sake not because any of them actually determine greater worth as demonstrated on the field.

Gwreck Sep 20 2013 06:52 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

The tiebreakers are head-to-head records. The coin-flip for home field advantage for tiebreaker games is a thing of the past.

Frayed Knot Sep 20 2013 07:12 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Todd Helton got his revenge. Wednesday night in a one-run game the Rox loaded the bases in the 9th against StL closer Mujica but Helton struck out to end the game. In Thursday's game, Mujica again came in to protect a one-run lead in the 9th but this time Helton hit the first pitch of the inning for a game-tying HR. In that game, the Cards scored one in the 8th - then the Rox tied it up. The Cards scored again in the 9th - then the Rox tied it up. StL takes their one game lead on the road to Milwaukee this weekend while the Reds and Pirates square off in Pittsburgh. The technically still in it Nationals host the Marlins and will certainly be rooting for the Pitt/Cincy series (both this weekend's and next) to be decisive one way or the other - preferably in Pitt's favor since they're one game closer to the Reds.

HahnSolo Sep 20 2013 08:14 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

AND, Helton pulled off a hidden ball trick in the game.

Frayed Knot Sep 20 2013 08:17 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

HahnSolo wrote: AND, Helton pulled off a hidden ball trick in the game. That's right, I did see that. Classic. Pirates tonight blew a 3-run lead in the 9th to Cincy. Second straight blown save for Melancon. Not sure how and how often they're using Grille these days. He's back off the DL but never regained his closer spot. In the middle of the Reds 9th inning rally was another PR appearance by Billy Hamilton. 1st pitch SB followed by scoring on an infield single. StL down 4-2 in the 7th in Milwaukee.

Gwreck Sep 20 2013 09:00 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Pirates kept in tied but then Votto homered in the top of the 10th. Just a horrible loss for them. Should all three teams tie for the division, there would be a three-team tiebreak over two days, in which the teams are "A" "B" and "C." Monday: Team A at Team B. Loser is a wild card. Tuesday: Team C plays at winner of A/B. Winner is division winner. Loser is wildcard. Wednesday: Wildcard game. Loser goes home.

Frayed Knot Sep 21 2013 06:39 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

I count that as only the 10th time this season that a 3-run/1-inning save has been botched and the Bucs picked a helluva time to do it. In fairness to Melancon it wasn't entirely his fault. One huge error and a two-run infield single that went off two different gloves contributed. But, still, he had two outs and only one run in and never finished the inning. That game had to be a bit of a killer for Washington as well. They won easily but wake up this morning the same distance from the WC#2 spot as they were before Friday's games. The Cardinals, meanwhile, do what they always seem to do: Get 16 hits and score 2 in the 7th, 1 in the 9th, then, after blowing a save, 1 more in the 10th to beat Milwaukee 7-6 And now they're back to a 2.0 game lead over two teams that have to battle each other for five more games while they only have the Nats to worry about sandwiched in between the Brewers and Cubs.

G-Fafif Sep 21 2013 09:11 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Pirate loss on 9/20/2013 about as brutal (from their perspective) as the Pirate loss on 9/20/1973. Except they've got all kinds of fallback playoff spots these days to cushion the blow. But still, Votto's ball didn't bounce off the top of any wall.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Sep 21 2013 10:17 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

HahnSolo wrote: AND, Helton pulled off a hidden ball trick in the game.

Zvon Sep 21 2013 10:33 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

G-Fafif wrote: Pirate loss on 9/20/2013 about as brutal (from their perspective) as the Pirate loss on 9/20/1973. Except they've got all kinds of fallback playoff spots these days to cushion the blow. But still, Votto's ball didn't bounce off the top of any wall. Damn, I hope they make it. Who would I root for if they don't?

Frayed Knot Sep 23 2013 07:38 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Cardinals lost last night so they remain in the lead of the Central and sit 2 games up on the twin WC contenders Pitt & Cincy The Nats still technically have a shot but with a 'Tragic Number' of 2 they need a whole string of miracles so that the playoff teams in the NL are pretty much set, the only question remaining to be settled is in which order. - Cards stay at home for the remainder with 3 vs Washington then 3 with the Cubs - Pitt heads to Wrigley starting tonight before the final shootout with the Reds - The Reds, of course, warm up for that showdown with 3 against the juggernaut that is your New York Mets

John Cougar Lunchbucket Sep 23 2013 07:44 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

My preference is for a 3-way tie at the finish, followed by a Pittsburgh shootout victory with the Cardinals going home. Failing that, if the Cards want to go ahead and lose out that's OK with me too. The Reds have absolutely slaughtered the Mets in each of their last 4 series. It would be nice to spoil their run too.

HahnSolo Sep 23 2013 07:49 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: The Reds have absolutely slaughtered the Mets in each of their last 4 series. It would be nice to spoil their run too. I thought the Mets played well in Cincinnati last year, with Murph having a monster series. I know they kill us in Citi.

Edgy MD Sep 23 2013 08:00 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Judging by how teams have looked going up against the Mets, I'd say the Reds and Tigers are the best teams in beisbol. I don't see how the Tigers don't have like 116 wins. Their bullpen is kinda shallow, and their defense is a trip (I'd bunt on them all day long), but they've sure got the starting-pitching-and-three-run-homer thing down. What an exhausting lineup.

Gwreck Sep 23 2013 08:12 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Tigers have a +173 run differential, second best in baseball; suggests they've underperformed their expected win-loss by 6 games (should be 97-59 instead of 91-65). I think a lot of that is due to early season bullpen troubles when they had Jose Valverde and others pitching meaningful innings.

Gwreck Sep 23 2013 09:03 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Cardinals beat Nationals. Pirates win. Reds win. Reds and Pirates clinch playoff spots.

Frayed Knot Sep 23 2013 09:04 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Reds win on a walk-off Pirates win on a 9th inning run then a play at the plate for the final out Cards leading by one in the 9th and employing a closer by committee* to try and close it ... and they do. Nats eliminated from post-season. So the NL teams are set as far as who. The only question remains in what order. * Edward Mujica, after a real good season, has apparently been shaky lately and has at least temporarily lost his job. With a one run lead in the 9th tonight vs the middle of the National's lineup, Matheny went to two different pitchers neither one of which was Mujica. And the result was a 1-2-3 inning. Be interesting to see if Matheny sticks with the mix and match stuff, especially seeing how it seems almost universal among media types that a closer by committee strategy is destined to failure.

bmfc1 Sep 23 2013 09:14 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Farewell to the "World Series or Bust" Nationals, the team that shutdown their best pitcher because they'd be there next year. They didn't win last year and won't win this year. Too bad, so sad. No Curly W's in October. Enjoy the Redskins, you fair weather fans. And yes, I'm sorry for Davey.

MFS62 Sep 23 2013 09:37 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Frayed Knot wrote: Pirates win on a 9th inning run then a play at the plate for the final out The Byrd was the word. I just heard on the ESPN radio update that he tossed out the runner. And the Bucs will be playing post-season baseball. Later

Zvon Sep 23 2013 09:46 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

MFS62 wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: Pirates win on a 9th inning run then a play at the plate for the final out The Byrd was the word. I just heard on the ESPN radio update that he tossed out the runner. And the Bucs will be playing post-season baseball. Later woohoo!

John Cougar Lunchbucket Sep 24 2013 05:41 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

MFS62 wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: Pirates win on a 9th inning run then a play at the plate for the final out The Byrd was the word. I just heard on the ESPN radio update that he tossed out the runner. And the Bucs will be playing post-season baseball. Later Uh, not really. There was a runner on first on a drive to RCF. Byrd got to it first but was unable to glove it and it rolled behind him to McCutcheon who alertly got it in quickly 8-3-2. Byrd's goof probably tempted the send. Otherwise they are 1st-and-3rd, 2 out.

MFS62 Sep 24 2013 07:35 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Another reason not to trust what you hear on ESPN Radio. Later

Edgy MD Sep 24 2013 09:00 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Reports of the Dodgers urinating in the Diamondbacks pool. Smeriously?

John Cougar Lunchbucket Sep 24 2013 09:28 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

I wonder if Deadspin is on that story.

Edgy MD Sep 24 2013 09:31 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

A little bit.

Frayed Knot Sep 24 2013 10:01 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Well, shit, if you're going to celebrate clinching the pennant in the outfield pool of an opponent, particularly when that pool belongs to the team you just eliminated, you might as well pee in while you're in there.

Edgy MD Sep 24 2013 10:13 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Just had a 28 1/2 year flashback to Mattingly himself getting busted for public whizzing. Unfortunately, looking for that, I had to stumble upon stories of more recent vintage of Mattingly's son and then-wife getting arrested in seperate incidents. What a crappy private life that guy must have.

Mets – Willets Point Sep 24 2013 10:15 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Top comment on the Deadspin article: The pool was subsequently banned for 100 games for testing positive for 6 different PEDs

Frayed Knot Sep 24 2013 08:10 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Cards pitcher (and rookie) Michael Wacha has got the Nats no-hit thru 8 (2 walks). This is his 9th ML start.

Frayed Knot Sep 24 2013 08:18 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Lombardozzi to lead it off -- Ball 1, Ball 2, Fouled Off, Ground out to SS

Frayed Knot Sep 24 2013 08:22 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Denard Span -- Called Strike, Foul Ball, Foul Ball, Ball One, Ball Two, Foul Ball, Ball Three, Call Strike Three This win, if it comes, wouldn't quite clinch the division for the Cards, but would come close. Only Mike Scott (as far as I know) has clinched a division for his team with a no-hitter. Against SF IIRC in 1986 of course.

Zvon Sep 24 2013 08:23 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

2 out for Zimmyipps. [bigpurple:19rjjdal]WHAT![/bigpurple:19rjjdal]

Frayed Knot Sep 24 2013 08:23 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Ryan Zimmerman -- Infield Hit!!!!!!

Zvon Sep 24 2013 08:23 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Adams should have NEVER come off the bag.

Frayed Knot Sep 24 2013 08:24 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

And Matheny pulls the kid. About 115 pitches for the night.

Frayed Knot Sep 24 2013 08:26 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Zvon wrote: Adams should have NEVER come off the bag. He doesn't come off the bag he doesn't catch the ball. Nothing he could have done. Better throw would have had him but that's a tough play. Tough call for the scorer too.

Zvon Sep 24 2013 08:27 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

I disagree. If Adams stayed on the bag I dont think that ump will call a tie an out there. And I do think he could have reached the throw w/o coming off the bag. Wow. Good job by the kid pitcher.

Zvon Sep 24 2013 08:33 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Just saw the post game interview with Wacha. You see that? He was so excited. I like that kid.

Frayed Knot Sep 24 2013 08:36 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Zvon wrote: I disagree. If Adams stayed on the bag I dont think that ump will call a tie an out there. And I do think he could have reached the throw w/o coming off the bag. Wow. Good job by the kid pitcher. The throw certainly had the runner beat, I just don't think he could have stayed on the base and stretched far enough.

Zvon Sep 24 2013 10:16 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Frayed Knot wrote: Zvon wrote: I disagree. If Adams stayed on the bag I dont think that ump will call a tie an out there. And I do think he could have reached the throw w/o coming off the bag. Wow. Good job by the kid pitcher. The throw certainly had the runner beat, I just don't think he could have stayed on the base and stretched far enough. I've seen it a few times now. It's certainly debatable and since I'm the only one sayin it I'll roll over. YIP!

Frayed Knot Sep 25 2013 02:30 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

StL completes the sweep of Washington (Nats fans must be seeing those 'Birds on the Bat' in their nightmares). This, along with our defeat of the Reds, eliminates Cincy from the Central division race. For them the only drama remains whether they or the Pirates get to host the one-game WC play-in game. Actually the Pirates can still win the division - although the just-concluded StL sweep plus the 3R HR they just served up to the Cubs is making that more and more unlikely. 4-1 Cubs in the 6th at Wrigley.

Edgy MD Sep 25 2013 04:23 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Chicago takes it 4-2. Pittsburgh should still fly to Phoenix to pee in the pool.

Frayed Knot Sep 25 2013 07:51 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

So Pitt is now down 3 games to the Cards with 3 to go. That means they'd have to run the table vs Cincy while the Cards get swept by the Cubs. Hmmmm not likely. So the Pitt/Cincy season-ending series turns out to be nothing more than a warm-up and a determinate of home-field for the one-game play-in. The math is pretty simple as the winner of the series wins the home game. A Pitt win -- of either 2-1 or 3-0 -- means they finish higher and host the game. A Cincy 3-0 sweep means they finish higher, while Cincy taking 2-of-3 puts them in a flat-footed tie but would also give Cincy the game as the Reds would then hold a 10-9 edge in the head-to-head season series. Watching a few of the games this week, the Pirate & Reds announcers seemed overly concerned with each other and not so much with St Louis even though that was the bigger prize. Now obviously it's better to host the game than not (especially if you're the Pirates and haven't had a playoff game in your town since, like, the FDR administration) but a 1-game series is the ultimate crap-shoot and the REAL home-field edge is how good your starting pitcher is that day. And it's looking increasingly like the winner of the play-in game is just going to turn around and play the Cards anyway while the Braves & Dodgers fight it out.

Edgy MD Sep 25 2013 08:57 PM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

So, is homefield advantage that important, or do you save your top starter for the play-in game? The question seems academic, as it isn't really clear who either team's top starter is. Cueto and Liriano, I guess.

Frayed Knot Sep 26 2013 06:17 AM Re: Raising the Jolly Roger? ... aka: Down the Stretch: NL S

Given the choice between home field or the better pitcher I'll take the pitcher every time. Not that it should be looked at as an either/or situation. Yesterday's hurlers, Latos & Liriano, would be on their regular day for starting the likely play-in game on Monday (or is it Tuesday?). Neither team has that one killer starter that you'd go all out to slot in instead of either of those two, nor do I think either manager should go all and burn ever weapon in their arsenals on Sunday just to have that one game on home turf. I suspect, because of the long drought and the 50/50 shot of ending the season without ever selling a playoff ticket, that the home game is more important to Pirate mgmt and the city of Pittsburgh than it is to the Reds/Cincinnati, but there still isn't a lot you can do between Friday & Sunday that's going to make winning on Monday any more likely. The overall advantage, of course, goes to whichever team the survivor will meet in round one which is the way the system was designed.