SPORTS

[GaryCooper]

The NBA is a different game I watched when Larry Bird and Magic Johnson competed against each other. Nikola Jokic will win a few more championships -- if he stays healthy.

G.C.

[laffite]

Looking forward to the Los Angeles Country Club this week at the Open.

https://www.golfchannel.com/news/2023-u ... t-hagestad

[GaryCooper]

Florida was totally beaten up and gassed in the end. Vegas owned them.

G.C.

[GaryCooper]

Bracket >> https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/2023 ... ournament/

[laffite]

Tatis Jr leads off the game with a double in yesterday's Padres-Giants. Then he tried to steal third and gets thrown out. A pretty stupid idea in the first place. You have the meat of the lineup coming up, why risk it? Later on in the game if the situation favors such a move but not the beginning of the game.

The next man hits a home run. The announcer announces oh gosh wow damn golly gee if the runner had just stayed on second, it would be 2-0 instead of 1-0. That reasoning is nonsense. The dynamics have changed without the runner on second and therefore the home run cannot be reasonably presumed had the runner had been on second. Announcers have been spouting this fallacy over the decades, apparently unaware that they are idiots for doing it.

The Padres took a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth. They bring scrub pitchers to get these final three and it wasn't even close. The Giants get men on and tie the score and had the bases loaded when the third out was finally recorded. They ordinarily would have brought him Josh Hader, their closer, but I guess they wanted to rest him. Rest him? He's appeared in 29 games and 28.1 innings all year long. He has never pitched more than an inning in any game! Rest him? The Pads are struggling all year and cannot afford to give away games.

Bob Melvin, the manager, has had a decent career but he is doing the nothing with his team Maybe it's not his fault but with the season nearly half over, maybe he ought be jettisoned for someone else. Sometimes teams do that just to "shake up the team" for better results.

[laffite]

Last week Machado hits a high fly deep into the outfield and stands at the plate looking at it. And looking. And looking. He finally bestirs himself to move a little as the ball caroms off the wall in left enter forcing the outfielders to scramble after it. When they finally get the ball back to the infield Machado is easing into second base with a fat smile on his face. He is not aware. If he had got the lead out of his pants and started running right away he would have eased into third, not second. This sort of thing is endemic. All swagger and no hustle. Pathetic.

[movieman1957]

That was the main problem I had with Machado when he was here in Baltimore. Brilliant fielder but came up short on attitude at times. I guess he hasn’t learned.

[laffite]

The Padres blow another one. The game before they blow a two-run lead in the ninth, and now they blow another two-run lead. The led 3-1 going into the seventh. They give up a run in the seventh, a run in the eighth, and a run ninth to lose 4-3. Their closer, conspicuously absent last night, came in and walked a batter with the bases loaded. Game over. So here is Bob Melvin in the post-game interview hemming and hawing regurgitating the usual blah blah. I kept waiting for one of the interviewers to ask, "Well, Bob, do you think your head is on the chopping block?" But they didn't because 1) they didn't want to scare the holy bejesus out of him and 2) they know the Padres will never do that because they know that the Padres are a pussy organization and would never gosh damn do anything as rash as that. Machado went 1-for-5 and is now batting a lusty .247.

[GaryCooper]

06/21/1964

* The Phillies had one of the biggest collapses in baseball history 1964.
>> https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/p ... ears-later
G.C.

[laffite]

The San Francisco Giants won their 10th straight and at the expense once again of the hapless Padres who are sinking fast. How much oxygen they left, who knows. The Pads did get an excruciatingly bad break on a questionable call. Leading 1-0 a Giant batter singled to right sending a runner to score. The throw was in plenty of time and batter was called out. The Giants challenged and won claiming the catcher interfered with the runner's dash to the plate. So we go to New York for a decision. New York, for chrissakes, And the experts there ruled in favor of the Giants, It's now 2-0 and the inning goes on during which the G score a couple more for a four run lead that the Pads did not overcome. Manager Melvin was out there arguing and was ejected. I was thinking, does Mr M get that mad at the players? Does he motivate the players? He seems a nice guy, avuncular and easy. Why isn't anyone talking about firing the guy? I don't want the guy to lose his job but it is not even on the radar. The Manny Machado play of the day came in about the fifth when he led off with a double. A really good even swing going with the pitch, he looked really great at the plate for a change. After an out, a batter lofted a fly ball down the left field (not right field, mind you) line, and Machado tried to tag up and go to third where he was thrown out. It is considered taboo for a runner on second to tag up on a fly to left. The replay that just showed Macho's movements on the play, We see him halfway between second and third looking up at the ball as it head for left field. He makes a move towards second and turns and looks the ball being caught. Inexplicably. he runs and touches second and hauls towards third. He is thrown out easily, It's one of those 'what was he thinking' sort of things. Manny made a sterling play at third but it didn't count. A grounder just foul past the third base bag and M playing way towards second dashed for the ball and with a single thrust backhanded the ball and without missing a beat threw the runner with a magnificent throw to first. But it was a foul ball. But a great play. He is stellar at third. The Pads have to play the Giants tomorrow. Where is Bochy when you need him?

[jamesjazzguitar]

Yea, Giants have won 10 in a row, and both them and the Diamondbacks are ahead of the Dodgers (now 3\12 back) and Pads way behind.

Crazy season so far.

[Dargo]

The San Francisco Giants won their 10th straight...

Question for ya here, laffite:

Has there ever been a time in recent memory in which every team in one division has had a record over .500 this late in the season?

(...I'm referencing of course the present standings in the AL East)

[jimimac71]

I never count my chickens before they hatch.
The Giants can sometimes stink it up after the All-Star Game.
Looking more and more like The A's are heading to Vegas.
People are wondering what to do with the Oakland ball yard.
Maybe they have forgotten what happened to Candlestick Park.
I don't think any city needs to baseball teams. Not LA, not NY, nor Chicago.
There are 30 teams and 50 states. Spread out the fun.
Portland, Oregon should have a baseball team.
For me, this is real baseball:
https://mavericksindependentleague.com/ ... volcanoes/
I have not been in Oregon for years, but could see the stadium in Keizer from the Interstate.

[scsu1975]

Has there ever been a time in recent memory in which every team in one division has had a record over .500 this late in the season?

(...I'm referencing of course the present standings in the AL East)

I checked the 1969 season because I remember the National League West was a real dogfight down the stretch. Every team (except the hapless San Diego Padres) had a record of .500 or above. There may have been other seasons that were closer, but this one stuck out in my mind:



Atlanta Braves 93 69
San Francisco Giants 90 72
Cincinnati Reds 89 73
Los Angeles Dodgers 85 77
Houston Astros 81 81
San Diego Padres 52 110

[Dargo]

Has there ever been a time in recent memory in which every team in one division has had a record over .500 this late in the season?

(...I'm referencing of course the present standings in the AL East)

I checked the 1969 season because I remember the National League West was a real dogfight down the stretch. Every team (except the hapless San Diego Padres) had a record of .500 or above. There may have been other seasons that were closer, but this one stuck out in my mind:



Atlanta Braves 93 69
San Francisco Giants 90 72
Cincinnati Reds 89 73
Los Angeles Dodgers 85 77
Houston Astros 81 81
San Diego Padres 52 110

Thanks for the reply here, Rich. Yep, I'd say your example might just come the closest in these regards and during a season's final standings sort of scenario.

However, I would think the chances of this sort of thing happening now days and this far into a season might have increased since the advent of the Central Divisions in 1994 and perhaps even more so since 1997 and when Interleague play began, and considering that the so-so teams of one league can now play some of the more hapless ones in the other.

(...so whadda YOU think, you old math teacher, you?...you're still good with numbers, right?!)