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Post by Zig on Sept 30, 2014 18:54:34 GMT -5
Soto is catching Lester for the first time. Weird spot to go with someone he's totally unfamiliar with.
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Post by bigddude on Oct 1, 2014 9:30:24 GMT -5
It didn't last long, as Soto hurt himself.
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Post by bigddude on Oct 1, 2014 9:31:52 GMT -5
Well, .......that was,.....EPIC!!
What a game. Anyone think that 5 hours was too long?
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Post by bigddude on Oct 1, 2014 9:33:05 GMT -5
And, in the Twitterverse -
We really need everyone to not commit crimes and drive safely right now. We'd like to hear the @royals clinch this.
— Kansas City Police (@kcpolice) October 1, 2014
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Post by bigddude on Oct 1, 2014 9:37:16 GMT -5
And so, the Big Donkey is done.
Or Dunn
Adam Dunn, who had to waive a no trade clause to go to Oakland, is hanging them up. Though he will not say it, he probably only agreed to the trade to get to the post season. And, it worked, after 2,001 games played.
Then, he does not start. Worst of all, after going extras last night, he ends up being one of the few who does not play last night.
I think I would quit after that too.
I will only have to hope that he has used the $112 odd million he made from baseabll wisely.....
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Post by bigddude on Oct 1, 2014 9:40:02 GMT -5
 Love it. |
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Post by bigddude on Oct 1, 2014 9:42:13 GMT -5
Derek Jeter alluded to this in that feature of him in New York Magazine last week. And now here it is: “The Players’ Tribune.” It’s Jeter’s athlete publishing portal where he plans to give a space for jocks to say what they want without going through the “filter” of the media. He explains the impulse:
I realize I’ve been guarded. I learned early on in New York, the toughest media environment in sports, that just because a reporter asks you a question doesn’t mean you have to answer. I attribute much of my success in New York to my ability to understand and avoid unnecessary distractions.
Those simple answers have always stemmed from a genuine concern that any statement, any opinion or detail, might be distorted. I have a unique perspective. Many of you saw me after that final home game, when the enormity of the moment hit me. I’m not a robot. Neither are the other athletes who at times might seem unapproachable. We all have emotions. We just need to be sure our thoughts will come across the way we intend.
So I’m in the process of building a place where athletes have the tools they need to share what they really think and feel. We want to have a way to connect directly with our fans, with no filter.
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Post by bigddude on Oct 1, 2014 9:43:56 GMT -5
Good news Braves fans!
Braves hitting coach Greg Walker officially informed the club today that he is stepping down from his current position with the organization.
This is basically an “I’ll quit before you fire me” situation, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes that Walker was likely to be dismissed Wednesday during Fredi Gonzalez’s end-of-season meeting with club officials. Atlanta averaged the second-fewest runs (3.54) in MLB this year, in front of only the Padres.
Walker was hired by the Braves in 2012. He served as hitting coach for the White Sox from 2003-2011.
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Post by bigddude on Oct 1, 2014 9:45:12 GMT -5
 A high point for the A's last night. Lester making Omar Infante look stupid. |
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Post by bigddude on Oct 1, 2014 9:46:12 GMT -5
 And then, an A's low point..... |
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Post by bigddude on Oct 1, 2014 9:47:22 GMT -5
 This is what being happy + waiting a long time looks like. |
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Post by bigddude on Oct 1, 2014 9:48:49 GMT -5
 The game winner. By Salvador Perez, A guy who has looked all but lost at the plate the last month or so. |
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Post by BHR on Oct 1, 2014 10:14:01 GMT -5
great game last night...i actually haven't enjoyed a game like that in a long time....the KC crowd was so energentic and i remembered why October baseball is still a great past time.
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Post by BHR on Oct 1, 2014 10:15:24 GMT -5
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Post by bigddude on Oct 1, 2014 10:19:31 GMT -5
 Not a lot of A's fans at the game last night. Which to me, is not surprising. The A's, and A's fans, do not "travel well". However, for me anyway, there was reason to look, and think there would be more A's fans on hand. While nowhere near Dodger and Giants territory, I know that there are some old baseball fans in that neck of the woods that never gave up on the A's when they moved from K.C to Oakland in 1968. But, those folks are pretty old now, and may have been in bed by the time the game even got going??? |
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Post by bigddude on Oct 1, 2014 10:29:02 GMT -5
I would agree on Edmonds not being a slam dunk choice. In fact, I would be kind of surprised if he made it at all. Not always a lot of love for the Plus, plus glove guys, which Edmonds was. However, he was no slouch at the plate, so, maybe. |
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Post by bigddude on Oct 1, 2014 10:30:08 GMT -5
The world needs more sports fans like this if you ask me.....
Heather McCartney is a Scottish model who attended the AFL Grand Final in Australia, essentially the country's Super Bowl. She had the luxury of watching the game from a corporate box, and made a very interesting bet.
"I got naked as I had a bet on that if Hawthorn won, I would flash quickly. No shows or performances."
Except McCartney didn't "flash quickly," she got completely naked in front of the 100,000 fans who attended the game. She was arrested for public nudity and was extremely gracious to the police officers who escorted her out of the stadium.
During her out-of-control antics, she kicked and punched police who tried to arrest her, attacking one with a high heel and biting another on the finger. "F--- off, I don't have to tell you anything, you f---ing retard," she yelled before hitting one officer in the face.
Police and the stadium are investigating the issue further and trying to determine if McCartney was hired as a publicity stunt. Several fans who watched from the same corporate box reportedly heard her being offered double her appearance fee "if she got naked and cheered in front of everyone".
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Post by bigddude on Oct 1, 2014 10:41:12 GMT -5
 For some reason, I don't think this will catch on quite like the RESPECT shirt for Jeter did..... |
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Post by bigddude on Oct 1, 2014 10:54:47 GMT -5
Jimmy Page has finally faced facts: Robert Plant is just not that into a Led Zeppelin reunion.
Speaking Tuesday in an onstage Q&A at the London launch of the latest batch of Zeppelin reissues, Page – who has agitated for a more permanent reunion ever since the band's triumphant one-off 2007 show at London's O2 Arena – finally seemed to rule out the band playing together again.
"I don't think it looks as though that's on the cards, so there's not much more I can say about that," he said. (Although, for once, Page declined to put the blame at Plant's door). "I'm not going to give you a detail-by-detail account of what one person says and another person says," he added. "All I can say is it just doesn't look very likely."
However, that doesn't mean you won't ever hear Page play Zeppelin classics again in a different setup, as the guitarist revealed plans to put a new band together and play live next year. "If I was to play again it would be with musicians ... some of them might be new to you," he said. "I haven't put the musicians together, I'm going to do that next year.
"If I went out to play again, I would play material that spanned my recording career," continued the musician. "I'd go back to the very early days, [including] Yardbirds material, and it would certainly have some new material as well. And I'd hopefully play all of the things I'm known to play – instrumental versions of 'Dazed and Confused' etc. etc."
At the former Olympic Studios in Barnes, West London (where Zeppelin often recorded, although the building is now primarily a restaurant/cinema), Page also unveiled some of the previously unreleased versions of songs that will feature on the reissues of Led Zeppelin IV and Houses of the Holy, set for release on October 28th. Songs on the companion discs accompanying the remastered original albums include the renowned Sunset Sound Mix of "Stairway to Heaven" and versions of "No Quarter" and "Black Dog" that place the respective contributions of bassist/keyboard player John Paul Jones and late drummer John Bonham even higher in the mix.
"It was really important to showcase everybody's talents within this project," Page said. "Listening to John Bonham is just a sheer celebration of his playing – it can't help but fill you with so much joy."
Both of the reissued albums have sold tens of millions of copies around the world, figures rarely – if ever – approached by modern artists. But Page declined to compare eras, describing "the Led Zeppelin of then and the new bands of now" as "two completely different worlds."
"But it's fair to say," he added, "Because Led Zeppelin weren't having to worry about doing singles, each time we went in to record, it was a body of work for an album. So you could get the shift and the movement forwards as opposed to having to be rooted back to a single that might have been done a year ago.
"I prefer to hear an artist's work and what they can do so, as far as I'm concerned, I'd get a lot more out of a collection of songs, to be able to understand what the musician is doing. The album's not dead for me; I still buy vinyl albums."
Page is also releasing a new version of his picture autobiography, although he said the full written story will have to wait. "I'd want it to be published posthumously," he said. "There's two good reasons for that; the first thing is you can't get sued, and the second thing is, you don't have to promote it."
Whether such propriety leads to a thawing of his relationship with Plant, of course, remains to be seen.
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Post by bigddude on Oct 1, 2014 11:09:14 GMT -5
This is an actual current headline for a story on the USA Today website.
"In nervous China, pigeons get butt inspections"
Wow.
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Post by bigddude on Oct 1, 2014 11:12:13 GMT -5
 About those Kansas City A's..... |
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Post by bigddude on Oct 1, 2014 11:55:22 GMT -5
An interesting "what if", that was brought up due to the game last night.
Can you say, “Mariano Rivera, Kansas City Royal”?
We can’t declare anything with certainty. But here’s the simple sequence of events: Herb Raybourn stepped down as the Royals’ director of Latin American operations, taking the same job with the Yankees, in November 1989. Just three months later, acting on a tip from a friend, he saw Rivera pitch in Puerto Caimito, Panama, for the first time and quickly signed him to the Yankees for a signing bonus of $2,000.
Art Stewart, senior advisor to Kansas City general manager Dayton Moore and a Royals employee since their inaugural 1969 season, has an entertaining new book out called “The Art of Scouting” in which he divulges the specifics of the story. Stewart wrote that Raybourn, in late 1989, asked the Royals for a $5,000 raise. John Schuerholz, then Kansas City’s general manager, tried to get the raise from ownership and failed, and Raybourn consequently jumped to the Yankees, who delivered the extra money.
I reached Raybourn at his Sarasota, Fla., home Tuesday, and though he couldn’t remember the exact figure, he confirmed the essence of Stewart’s story. It was former Yankees executive George Bradley — he served as the team’s vice president of baseball operations during part of George Steinbrenner’s early ’90s banishment — who knew of Raybourn’s work and brought him over, Raybourn added.
“Art Stewart always treated me very well,” Raybourn said. “He hated to see me go, and I hated to leave Kansas City.”
Schuerholz, who left the Royals to become the Braves’ general manager in 1990, said he didn’t remember the specifics of how and why Raybourn left.
“If Art’s memory is so certain on that, I’d have to defer to that,” Schuerholz said Tuesday.
Stewart, who scouted for the Yankees in the 1950s and 1960s before leaving for Kansas City, wrote that Raybourn boasted to him of having a couple of players “in the bushes” — youngsters who weren’t eligible to sign yet. And those two players, Stewart wrote, were Rivera and his fellow Panamanian and future Yankees teammate Ramiro Mendoza. And by the time they were eligible, Raybourn had switched to the Yankees.
Raybourn disputed that part of Stewart’s storytelling. He said he only had seen Rivera play shortstop while working under Royals employ, and it was only after he joined the Yankees he became aware that Rivera also pitched and attended a throwing session.
“After nine pitches, I told Mariano, ‘Let’s go see your mother and father,’ ” Raybourn said. Rivera pitched in 22 games in 1990 for the Gulf Coast Yankees, less than a year after Raybourn switched clubs. And Raybourn is now remembered most in baseball circles for his discovery of Rivera.
There are a myriad “ifs” in this story. Maybe Raybourn would have been following a different work schedule with the Royals and wouldn’t have made his way to Rivera’s home, leaving opportunity for another team’s scout — a different Yankees scout, even — to pounce. Perhaps Rivera, who didn’t make his major league debut until he was 25, wouldn’t have developed in the Royals’ farm system as he eventually did with the Yankees.
And, of course, maybe Rivera would have lasted six years with the Royals, entered free agency and signed a big contract with the Yankees eventually, anyway.
The Royals were often so bad during the extent of Rivera’s career that they might not have given the future Hall of Famer enough leads to protect to get them back into October. Nevertheless, it’s fun to think about, isn’t it?
Schuerholz, likely headed to Cooperstown someday, laughed when I proposed the alternate realities that never came to be.
“If [letting Raybourn go] caused us to miss Mariano, then I’ve got to go to my baseball grave with that one,” Schuerholz said.
Stewart, on the field before Tuesday’s game, shrugged when I asked him how different the Royals’ history would be now had Raybourn stayed.
“Who knows? It’s a strange game,” he said. “But things tend to even out.”
After all, 29 years out of the chase made Tuesday feel all the sweeter.
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Post by bigddude on Oct 1, 2014 13:11:22 GMT -5
Like I did yesterday, here is how the Giants decided to set up their roster for today's game. While not a complete and total shocker, seeing that they decided to bring Lincecum along shows that they in fact do have some faith in him going forward.
The Giants will open their 25th overall appearance in the postseason with 10 pitchers, three catchers, seven infielders and five outfielders.
The roster includes:
Pitchers (10)
41 Jeremy Affeldt LHP
40 Madison Bumgarner LHP
46 Santiago Casilla RHP
55 Tim Lincecum RHP
49 Javier Lopez LHP
63 Jean Machi RHP
22 Jake Peavy RHP
52 Yusmeiro Petit RHP
54 Sergio Romo RHP
60 Hunter Strickland RHP
Catchers (3)
28 Buster Posey C
14 Guillermo Quiroz C
34 Andrew Susac C
Infielders (7)
13 Joaquin Arias IF
9 Brandon Belt IF
35 Brandon Crawford IF
50 Matt Duffy IF
37 Adam Duvall IF
12 Joe Panik IF
48 Pablo Sandoval IF
Outfielders (5)
7 Gregor Blanco OF
56 Gary Brown OF
45 Travis Ishikawa OF
8 Hunter Pence OF
2 Juan Perez OF
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Post by bigddude on Oct 1, 2014 13:13:39 GMT -5
The Pittsburgh Pirates have posted their roster for the National League Wild Card Game.
The following 25 players will be eligible for tonight's game against the San Francisco Giants.
Pitchers (9)
John Holdzkom
Jared Hughes
Bobby Lafromboise
Jeff Locke
Mark Melancon
Edinson Volquez
Tony Watson
Justin Wilson
Vance Worley
Catchers (3)
Russell Martin
Tony Sanchez
Chris Stewart
Infielders (7)
Clint Barmes
Ike Davis
Josh Harrison
Jordy Mercer
Brent Morel
Gaby Sanchez
Neil Walker
Outfielders (6)
Andrew Lambo
Starling Marte
Andrew McCutchen
Gregory Polanco
Travis Snider
Jose Tabata
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Post by Zig on Oct 1, 2014 14:01:18 GMT -5
For some reason, I don't think this will catch on quite like the RESPECT shirt for Jeter did..... not sure who that is...Ibanez? |
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Post by bigddude on Oct 1, 2014 14:02:08 GMT -5
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Post by bigddude on Oct 1, 2014 14:14:43 GMT -5
For some reason, I don't think this will catch on quite like the RESPECT shirt for Jeter did..... not sure who that is...Ibanez? It's nobody. Or, more correctly, it's the designer of the shirt in question. |
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Post by Zig on Oct 1, 2014 14:28:56 GMT -5
not sure who that is...Ibanez? It's nobody. Or, more correctly, it's the designer of the shirt in question. Oh, I don't feel so stoopit now ha ha Who do you like in the game tonight? |
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Post by bigddude on Oct 1, 2014 14:41:36 GMT -5
It's nobody. Or, more correctly, it's the designer of the shirt in question. Oh, I don't feel so stoopit now ha ha Who do you like in the game tonight? I think the Giants will win it. I think Bumgarner will be too much for most of that lineup, and the Pirates have some holes and issues, especially at catcher. My main worry for the Giants will be in left field, as they have decided to go with Travis Ishikawa there for some reason. I think he has only played a handfull of games in the outfield, as he is primarily a 1B guy. I am rooting for him though, as he is one of many that I saw and made an impression on me when i was still going to a lot of single A San Jose Giants games a few years back. |
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Post by bigddude on Oct 1, 2014 14:48:29 GMT -5
Here is the Pirates starting lineup for tonight. I will post the Giants one as well, as soon as I can see and find it.
1. Josh Harrison (R) 3B
2. Jordy Mercer (R) SS
3. Andrew McCutchen (R) CF
4. Russell Martin (R) C
5. Starling Marte (R) LF
6. Neil Walker (S) 2B
7. Gaby Sanchez (R) 1B
8. Travis Snider (L) RF
9. Edinson Volquez (R) P
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