They're playing on a Supercross course? This is the last straw for the Twins ground crew.

Twins are hot these days, Tigers kind of scuffling. I'd rather face a team that isn't hitting.

I don't think either team will be an easy opponent, but I'm inclined to think that the scuffling team with internal strife might be in the Yanks best interests. The other school of thought is that the Twins have been on the gas for so long that they'll run out soon. Either way, if you see a middle-lineup guy from an ALDS opponent in NY, but them a drink!

Just hoping for a nail biter. On one hand I want the Twins b/c the Yanks owned them this year, but then I think Indians and Tigers from several years ago. Ugh. On the other hand I want the Tigers b/c we owe those bastards. From several years ago. Oy. Here we go......

Wow. Lucky for Minny.

[0] Nice! You know LT would have sent Cabrera a few bottles/cases of his drink of choice if he was on the Twins. ;)

[5] Man on 2nd no outs. 1st and 3rd 1 out. No runs. No doubt.

May the game go 18 innings.

[8] The longer the game goes on, the better.

The more pitchers who get used, the better.

That was crushed. Just crushed.
Can you say 'Hello Verlander'?

Easy there. Young Porcello can give it back just as quickly (I hope).

let's go Porcello!!

[11] He's trying.

damn.

[8] [9] Cheers to that.
18 innings, burnt out bullpen, and if it's Minnesota on top, an exhausted Joe Mauer...

Is this game being broadcast in NYC? I can't seem to find it.

[16] Do you get TBS? It's on that channel.

[17] Yes I do - thanks! I forgot about that one.

i don't care how beat up the tigers are. i prefer a team without verlander.

Jorge De Larosa out for the Rockies in the NLDS. That sucks for him and the team. Obviously.

That's a shot.

Bomb by Kubel. Wow. 3-2 Tigers.

this game is about to get a whole lot more interesting...

Quick hook by Leyland. Hey, burn out the bullpen in regulation, that works for me.

The announcers just said that the most difficult inning for a manager is the sixth. Does that mean that the sixth inning guy is really the most important pitcher in the game?

And yes, that was a man-sized HR.

I'm gonna go on record and say that I want no part of the Twins, this team is so hot it scares the ever loving cookies out of me

[25] 6th inning Central Time Zone. 8th inning Eastern Time Zone. : )

If Im the Twins, I write Leyland a thank you note for taking out Porcello. Bad move in my estimation.

Tolbert gets a hit and the roof is gonna come off this place

I don't see anyway the Twins could beat us in a 5 game series. No way,

[30] neither do I, but logic seems to take a vacation in October

[27] Awesome.

[30] Agreed. Some Yankees fans (myself included at times) are real nervous ninnies: we can't play Detroit because of Verlander, can't play the Twins because they are hot, can't play LAA because they have out number, and can't play Bostong because...well, just because.

Honestly, this team won 103 games and beat everyone, including the Big Boys. Hot or not, I like the chances of the Yankees v. the Twins, even if Girardi decides to punt one lineup spot for (up to) two games with Molina.

[32] i can't see him actually going back to molina in a game 5, especially if burnett is no good in game 2

[27] yeah very nice :}

this game is a warm-up for dealing with chip caray

[34] what, you don't think it's useful to know that the twins have been pretty good when their starters have been good?

[33] I hope you're right. But then, I didn't really think he would go to Molina in Game 2, so already I am beginning to expect the worst. I bet this also "necessitates" carrying three catchers, and if so starting Molina burns an extra roster spot.

And the Twins do not have Morneau for the PS. They don't have the type of lineup that can afford that.

Yay for smallball!

[36] You don't want to have three catchers?

Oh, awesome. I don't know why I'm rooting for the Twins, but I am. Kudos to Emma's brother!

[35] yes, very useful :}

looks like no bruney, pena, or mitre on the alcs roster (per feinsand)

2 spots for 3 players - guzman, frankie c, and marte

[35] When ever any team's starter has been good, they've been good. Honestly, I think the Yankees do stack up well against any other team.* Heck, we spotted Boston 8 games at the start of the year and still finished ahead of them.

*except the Angels. Them, I'm real nervous about.

mp and riyank, idk if you guys are still going to the molina thread, so i am posting here - would a stat like runs created be able to tell you something about the projected difference between po and molina in one game?

[40] ALCS? Is that what you meant?

[39] Actually, I'm pulling for the Twins as well...for a variety of reasons I have soft spot for them.

[42] Yes, Runs Created will at least give you a good approximation, a ballpark figure, so to speak.

Cabrera with the tater?? That's one way to win your teammates back.

[43] yeah sorry alds - my mind keeps jumping forward to the alcs

The booth guys stay relatively quiet for the most part. Kinda, I mean definitely nice.

[40] Feinsand's a psychic? ALCS?

What are next week's lottery numbers?

[49] sorry - my error - i so want to get past the alds i keep making that error

[44] I KNEW you loved scrappy, small ball! The secret is out! :)

[47] Huh. I'm surprised, but frankly kind of pleased that Bruney is left behind. He's one of the guys I don't trust Girardi with, if you see what I mean.

[51] (It was irony -- not sure if you could tell. Dude popped up the sac bunt attempt.)

Typhoon is due to make landfall tomorrow morning, already rainy and windy here..my journey to work will be fun. If I don't make it back to the Banter and get swept up in the storm, Go Twins! (Like others, I prefer to never see Verlander-san in the playoffs...)

Uh.
The broadcast didn't show the play. They showed the pitcher.

[50] No problem, you could make it up by giving me next week's lottery numbers.

[48] not as nice as a dag hammarskjöld allusion

Oh, whoa. WHOA.

[55] I'm watching on mlb.com, and I just realized that I get to select my camera angle! This is revolutionary...

This is amazing.
Here are the cameras I can choose, which I guess is the same choice the TBS director has:

Visiting dugout
Home dugout
First base (shows the stands most of the time)
Third base
Mid home plate
High home plate
Center field
Tight center field (basically over the pitcher's shoulder, close-up on bat&catch)

OH

MUH

GAH

[56] okay will do

[59] that is cool

wow 2 run hr

Holy Shit. O Cab you bastard.

Momentum is whatever reliever is on the mound.

OH, hell yeah, go Twins!!!!

Good night for Cabreras.

[58] Awesome! I was just talking about that the other day. Can you choose the full field?

(That Mauer can really hit.)

[42][45] well then, let's see what the numbers say. This season Posada has 72 RC in 438 PA, or .164 RC/PA. Molina has 11 RC in 155 PA or .071 RC/PA.

So, as I see it, three PAs of Molin means sacrificing .492-.213 RC = .279 RC.

Hm. As I pointed out last thread, .16 R/G separates the Yankees v. the Sox. It's about .25 R/G for the LAA.

So swapping in Molina for Posada single-handedly eliminates the Yankees offensive advantage over their toughest opponents, on the speculation that AJ really throws better because of Molina.

Against the Twins, throwing away more than a quarter of a run per game might work out. Against the Angels or Sox...???

[59] Amazing, indeed! Wow. I'd love to have that.

[68] weeping ,chip caray is definitely on my all star trio of dipshits - he really grates me - METRODOME MAGIC!!

[59] it's okay. several of the camera angles don't follow the flight of the ball. Like the CF camera. Other angles don't actually show the view they say they do (High Home Plate, 3rd baseline).

Neither do you get any graphics or replays.

The audio is slightly ahead of the camera feeds.

It's a decent idea, very poorly implemented.

I switched to the TBS feed after a couple of innings

what the hell is a Fu Te-Ni??

Tonight we can say "Ni"

[66] [68] Yeah, you can choose the High Home Plate angle, which is what I think you mean by "the whole field".
The one problem is: I'm not as good at this as a real director, so I don't switch as well :-(

[67] Hm, that's a lot more than I expected.
Still, if it does in fact help Burnett, that could easily be worth more than a quarter of a run.

It's silly to look at a stat like RC and try to apply it to 1 or 2 games. We ALL have watched a lot of these guys. We all know Po is an impact batter and Molina is a black hole.

The question is, does AJ pitch better with Molina. I'd rather AJ be 1 or 2 runs better and miss Po's bat.... but that can't be guaranteed. However, if Molina is to catch 2 games, I want Cervix on the squad so we can, ingame, replace Molina with Po if it seems warrented.

[71] Taiwanese pitcher. Started the year here in Toledo. Decent pitcher, wouldn't mind it if Cashman acquired him, be a nice tandem with Wang.

[70] RIght, not tracking the ball is a problem when I get too fancy. But why don't you think High Home Plate is actually shooting from high behind HP? I think it is. And 3B doesn't mean the third baseline, it means the camera is on the field behind 3B. That camera man is often panning the crowd.

[73] Well, that and the fact that everytime you switch angles, the app checks to verify you're not in a restricted viewing area, so by the time you switch views, the play is already 1-2 seconds past where it was when you went to switch.

The High Home Plate angle was somewhere down the 1st baseline at the start of the game, did they fix that at some point?

Group question:
On a school grading system (A thru F), rate the
Yankeess BP
Detroitss BP
Twin's BP

[74] It’s silly to look at a stat like RC and try to apply it to 1 or 2 games.

It's not silly. It's essential. If you don't do something like that, you'll have no idea whether it's a reasonable move, or if it's bad just how bad it is.

I think Leyland made a mistake pulling Porcello so early.
He was almost untouchable.

[74] Why is it silly? Why is it more silly than using the absurdly small sample sizes to determine that AJ pitches better because of Molina? What is your evidence that AJ *will be* 1 or 2 runs better with Molina? At least I have provided a rationale for why the offense *will* be, on average, a quarter of a run worse.

For the whole goddam season the manager throws a certain lineup out there, and then when the games count the most, he pulls one of his better offensive players for, as you say, a black whole. And we are supposed to accept this on the face of it?

[70] How do you switch to the TBS feed??? This shit is driving me nuts! Both MLB.tv and Postseason.tv give me the 8 camera crap.

[77] Oh, that's why it takes several seconds to load the new angle. Yeah, that's non-great.
Try the High Home Plate camera again. It's fine, what you'd expect. I guess before the game it was scanning for 'human interest' or something?

Hooray for ties! Go, extra innings!

[76] At the start of the game, there were 2 separate choices.

3rd baseline
&
3rd base.

The former was down the 1st baseline and spent the entire time showing dugout shots (I never saw it pan to the field, even during action), the latter was in the 2nd deck above and behind (down the line) from 3rd base.

Extra innings! Extra innings!

Wow, Ordoñez ties it. This game could become epic. Let's hope they play 36 innings and everyone, including Verlander, pitches several high leverage innings.

[67] thanks mp - good work.

i tried to look at the splits with molina and po catching burnett to see if we can get some kind of runs against, there has to be a better way, but if we simply do runs/pa as a rough estimate, with molina it is 0.10 and po is 0.13 - if aaj faces 25 batters, he gives 2.5 runs with molina and 3.25 with po - a difference of 0.75
(let me know if this thinking is off)

[82] http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb

click watch live (don't click the mlb.tv banner).

[83] it was just not the right camera. it was down at field level down the 1st base line.

not exactly the best QC on the product, though if they're fixing some of the worst problems, that's encouraging.

[85] Huh. And that's how they were labeled, or they were mis-labeled?
Yeah, I'm poking around more and there are some unexpected shots. I guess you just choose the camera you want and have to put up with whatever the camera operator has been assigned, or is choosing, or whatever.

[88] Good stuff. The major difference, of course, is that RC is drawing on a much bigger sample size against a wider range of opponents. Plus, if we looked at their career numbers (rather than just the season) the offensive difference would be about the same.

With AJ's pitching, we can only rely on what he has done this year. No one denies that he has pitched better when Molina has been catcher (though he has had some stinkers, too). The real question is to what degree are we confident that he has pitched better *because* Molina is catching.

We know that they are sacrificing a measurable amount of offense by batting Molina, say, three times. But if Molina really saves, say, three-quarters of a run, then it works. out. I remain skeptical about the causal connection.

[90] both.

the high home camera was the right label, but had the wrong camera assigned to it.

the 3rd baseline was supposed to be 1st baseline (or 1st base) since that's where that label was positioned on the field (where you can select the camera by it's position on the virtual field).

like i said, just seems like some lousy QC.

[91] Yep, I agree with that.
The uncertainty for me means that instead of crediting Molina (with AJ) with .75 runs, I'll drop that to .25 to .50. I feel like this is a close call and (as I said) not something to, you know, fire the manager over...

[91] thanks mp.
yeah i think we can far more confidently predict what we are losing with po's bat than what is gained by molina catching burnett.
i haven't done this since aj's "good stretch" with molina, but earlier when i looked at game scores, po caught some of his highest game scores, but also some of his lowest, and the average game score between po catching and molina catching was very small in molina's favor and i believe the difference was not statistically significant
if i get the energy to do this again with the recent games i'll post it

Another drawback: I can't get the Pitchtrack replay.
It's fun, but for the Yankee game I think I'll stick with the YES directors.

Any chance Girardi is watching and learning something? I give Gardenhire real credit for this move.

What's this? Closer in the 8th inning of a tie game?

[97] Inconceivable!

wow..."Inge personifies what the city of Detroit has gone through"

just...wow

i think chip caray just made a case for using your best reliever in a high leverage situation - however i don't know if he really means it

In any case, I'm strongly in favor of Joe Nathan pitching three innings tonight!

[101] I'll drink to that.
So it's a regular season game, do they get to use the full 40 man roster (or however many they call up)?

Can't imagine the season comes down to Sept. 1 call ups.

[101] fernando rodney too - except i doubt he could get through 3 innings without a shit ton of runs being scored

Delmon Young and Keroppi, separated at birth?

[103] And in any case, how big an advantage would it be for the Yankees not to have to face Rodney???

They're playing "Born to Run" at the Metrodome during the commercial break.

[94] good stretch with Molina

Ah, but was it?

AJ's best stretch, as far as I can tell, was between June 14 and July 27, when he lowered his ERA almost every start, from 4.78 to 3.53. His starting catchers over that time:

June 14, Cervelli
June 20, Posada
June 27, Posada
July 3, Cervelli
July 8, Posada
July 17, Posada
July 22, Posada
July 27, Posada

So, for his best run this season, AJ did not pitch to Molina at all--it was mostly Posada with some Cervelli.

OK, but what about his best games. Looking at the crude tool that is game score, here are AJ's top 15 games by GSc with his starting cathcer:

82, Posada
77, Posada
76, Molina
74, Posada
73, Cervelli
69, Cash
66, Molina
65, Molina
65, Molina
62, Molina
62, Cervelli
62, Posada
61, Posada
60, Posada

Here Molina fairs better, but Posada was still the starting C for three of his four best games, and six of the top 15. In short, I see very, very little evidence that Molina is the course of AJ's typically inconsistent success. If anything, Posada seems to be the catcher who is most likely to get AJ to throw his very best games.

[103] 2,000 bricks shitted = 1 shit ton. I think.

Helluva bunt with a Melky special.

Wow, a dive into first that actually was the right call?

[79] You need to look at RC in order to determine that Po is a much better hitter then Molina? And what is the difference in their RC's PER GAME? A 5th of a run? And can we know if/how much better AJ will be will Molina vs Po? No... we can't. We can guess based on the law of averages. But what happens in a SSS is really random.

What were the odds that Molina would hit the last HR in YS?

Shades of Joey Cora in the 95 ALDS

[105] it would be unacceptable to not face rodney

[107] that's why i put good stretch in quotes :}
he seems to pitch to the extremes with po and with a average to good range with molina

[108] yes, i believe that is the correct conversion :}

Anyone think Nathan should have been in in the 8th to face Detroit's 3 best hitters?

[111] You need to look at RC in order to determine that Po is a much better hitter then Molina?

No. You need to look at RC or something similar to determine how much better.

What does "guess randomly based on the law of averages" mean? Oh, like when you pinch hit a guy with a great batting average for a guy with a crappy one, you're just guessing randomly based on the law of averages?

[114] Yep.

[111] I don't need to look at RC to know Po is better than Molina. But we can look at RC to determine how many runs, on average, Molina costs with his bat. we MUST know that in order to begin the process of figuring out what, if any, advantage is gained by throwing and AJ-Molina battery.

Please refer to [107], which suggests that the AJ-Molina advantage is largely illusory.

BTW, I'm not sure what the so-called "law of averages" has to do with anything.

[114] Uh. Which game are you watching?

[114] You can't use your closer in the Eighth Inning, even in the central time zone.

[114] He was in in the 8th.

jesus that pitch broke hard

Wow, Polanco looked pretty bad there

Nasty inside pitch Nathan has tonight.

Not even close to a strike. Break for Minn.

haha the replay shows that it's 6" inside and darling just says "what a pitch!"

[113] Wait, you can. You just have to wait for base runners.

Pick your poison, Magglio or Cabrera...

[126] Ugh. I meant to refer to [119].

OMG!

Wow, another big break for the Twins! Houdini Nathan gets out of it

was he really out there? they didn't show a good replay.

[130] I can't see any replays.
Yeah, I'm not so thrilled about this postseason.tv thing anymore.

You folks are miles ahead of me in regards to stats. So this will hold little water, but when I think of the Jorge-A.J. battery I see consistent shake-offs, several mound visits per inning with risp, dropped 3rd strkes, dropped 2nd strikes, etc. I enjoy reading the banter, though. But I am a firm believer that A.J.'s pie making brain is in a better place with Molina catching. So in short, he better NOT suck. : )

HOLY SHIT WITH THE DOUBLE PLAY.

Extr-y innings, we want extr-y innings!

Miguel Cabrera had a blast early but another Cabrera has shifted the momentum
- ESPN

[128] Time Zone change gets you every time.

OK, Twins win it right here.

They really didn't show a good replay on TBS, so don't feel bad

since lohud is getting flash to do a pre-game analysis of the pitching matchups, can the banter get coney?

[136] You're calling a Nick Punto walk-off dinger????

[139] Well, ok, maybe I was a bit exuberant. BUt I still call that they win with only one or no outs.

[138] Alex is working on getting Karim Garcia.

Love them leadoff walks.

Have to settle for a Punto walk instead.

Leyland comes out to do something stupid. I'm so looking forward to this.

Nick Punto is the new David Eckstein.

[141] Who?

[138] I can smell Wednesday night coming. : D

OK, there is the one out. Now the games ends here.

fr time

[146] no doubt - i think coney smells every night coming - but that was one of the best lines of the year

[111] I don’t need to look at RC to know Po is better than Molina. But we can look at RC to determine how many runs, on average, Molina costs with his bat. we MUST know that in order to begin the process of figuring out what, if any, advantage is gained by throwing and AJ-Molina battery.
------------------------------------------------------
You didn't read [111] very well. So tell me, over ONE game, on AVERAGE, how many more runs is Po worth compared to Molina. Tell me. Is it more then 1? Less?

"...advantage is gained by throwing and AJ-Molina battery."
We have NO IDEA what is gained here. It's a gut call. We know AJ prefers Molina, but as William posted, there may not have been any gain in the past games. But of course, in the games Molina caught AJ, we don't know how AJ would have done, THAT day, against THAT team, if Po had caught instead.

It's all guesswork. If not, I could easily write a computer program that crunched stats, to manage games. These stats are not absolute. There are many factors that that determine actual events. A pitcher's ERA (AVERAGE) might be 4, but he may give up 1 ER, or 8 ER, in any one game. There is NO way to know.

It could be how well a player slept the night before that has the greatest influence over how he performs. Or if he got laid the night before.

Stats record history, but don't predict the future.

Gardenhire beats Leyland to the Dumb Move punch. (The successful sac lowered the Twins' chance of winning, though admittedly by only about 1%.)

Ah, now it's Rodney.

What a chess match.

Damn Inge ruins my prediction!!

Looks like Inge got laid last night....

bet the tigers are glad inge is at 3b this year

Stats record history, but don’t predict the future.

Ah.
So, it's just pure guesswork to use a guy with a season .349 average to pinch hit for a guy with a .190 average.

Got it.

[148] Not. Gonna. Touch. That.

Free baseball.

Sweet.
Extra, extra, read all about it!

Yes! Extra Innings!!

[156] Hey, the whole game is free baseball! This is double free.

and there's your extra innings

FREE BASEBALL

BONUS CANTOS

Extra innings! (clap clap clapclapclap) extra innings! (clap clap clapclapclap) >;)

[132] That is the most statistically accurate post I have seen here in a while. It;s The AJPMB stat!

[149] You didn’t read [111] very well. So tell me, over ONE game, on AVERAGE, how many more runs is Po worth compared to Molina. Tell me. Is it more then 1? Less?

Where do you get this 1 run figure. Why is greater or less than one run important? Over one game the difference is about a quarter of a run, it seems. Or, if you prefer, about one run every four games.

Now I ask you, what is the evidence that AJ throwing to Molina, on average, gets that quarter run (or one run every four games) back? If it doesn't, then putting Molina in the lineup lowers the chances of winning, simple as that,

[154] Well after all, everyone *knows* that you just can't predict baseball.

*wonder if Craig Saiger's a pimp in his spare time*

now nathan's done? i'd try to ride him one more inning here.

[165] his outfits are something else. he takes a lot of crap during nba games - one time last year lebron could not stop asking him what the hell he was thinking wearing that while he was being interviewed at halftime

Way to take one for the team, uniform.

It is weird, to me, that the season could be decided by teams playing with 40-man rosters. But that's a discussion for another day.

[99] Inge lost his job and is facing foreclosure on his home?? Or, was it just a cliched, glorify-the-scrappy-bearded-guy kind of statement?

Thanks for all the stats on the AJ-Molina question everyone, very interesting! However, at the end of the day it doesn't really matter..if AJ says he is more comfortable with Molina then that's all that counts...right? You want your #2 guy to be confident going into a playoff game...my two cents..

[164] (As Sterling nods vigorously in impending senility...)

"So, it’s just pure guesswork to use a guy with a season .349 average to pinch hit for a guy with a .190 average."

The different there is 16 hits in 100 ABS.
So.... how does that apply to ONE AB, against pitcher A on day B with other circumstances C?

The Odds are better for the .349 guy.
Of course you bat the .349 guy and play the odds.
And more times then not, he should do better.
But it does not predict what happens in any one specific AB.

If there is a 50% chance of rain tomorrow, is it gonna rain?
The correct answer is: Maybe.
It is not a prediction. It's a best guess.

What's Nathan's ERA this game?

[170] You want your #2 guy to be confident going into a playoff game…my two cents..

I agree with you..but what if the evidence suggest that he is wrong. That is, what if it is demonstrable that he pitches far worse with the battery-mate with whom he is comfortable (I'm NOT saying that is the case here)? Does his perceived comfort outweigh the evidence to the contrary?

okay tigers up

wow that pitch was right down the middle and called a ball

Inge DEFINITELY got laid last night.
And good sleep too.

Pitcher got jobbed on that 1-1 pitch. And then the lead is blown right afterwards. D'oh.

[167] Yes, I have to admit that purple getup was one of his more conservative suits... Wonder if he's friends with a pimp named slickback.

Bad pitch by Crain, didn't pitch to his defense

Well c'mon, twinkies, selfish homer next time up! One run's all you need... >;)

terrible relay throw by the way

What’s Nathan’s ERA this game?

0.00?

The Odds are better for the .349 guy.
Of course you bat the .349 guy and play the odds.
And more times then not, he should do better.
But it does not predict what happens in any one specific AB.

I have no idea what you're talking about.
If the batting average doesn't predict this specific at bat, then you should just ignore it an flip a coin or throw dice to decide who to pinch hit, right? But that's not what you think. You think it's wise to play the odds.
Well, so do I. And the stats tell you the odds. That's why you look at batting average to decide whom to PH, and that's why you look at RC when you try to figure out whether it's worth replacing Posada with Molina.

[176] You can bet he wasn't out until 5 am, drinking.

Way to symbolize all of Detroit, by the way...

Dude! The Great Pumpkin just walked by...

[178] hahaha :}

[180] very true - damon would be proud

Still no confidence in Rodney. No respect.

[172] But it does not predict what happens in any one specific AB.

If there is a 50% chance of rain tomorrow, is it gonna rain?
The correct answer is: Maybe.
It is not a prediction. It’s a best guess.

You're slipping into Sterling territory. Just because predictions are not 100% accurate does not deny that they are predictions, nor does it invalidate the application of evidence derived from larger sample sizes to individual events. You are creating a distinction (prediction v. best guess) that is more semantic than substantive.

To use your analogy, if it is a 50% chance of rain, then one CAN"T predict whether it will rain or not, since the odds are even. But if the odds of rain are 70%, you CAN predict that it will rain tomorrow. You may be wrong 30% of the time, but it is a reasonable prediction nonetheless.

Thus, I can predict that playing Molina for a game will cost the Yankees an average of .25 runs or so on offense, or a run every four games. It may or may not cost them in tomorrow's game, but the prediction is reasonable.

oh boy!

wow - nice hit - i wonder if a slower lf would have played that more conservatively

Lead off triple.

Do I smell 11th inning?

Sweeet!

wow! i'm JUST getting home and turning the game on.

i'll take credit for the triple! ; )

[hi everyone, nice to see you!]

Crikey. Nice catch Rayburn. If Swish or Damon did that I would throw my tv, laptop, dog and wife out the window. Not necessarily in that order. Triple my ass.

Awesome!

More free baseball, please.

ah, shoulda gone with the double steal! ; )

what a game!

Watching these two teams, its really hard to pick who you would like to face, both playing excellent, resilient baseball,

[173] Aj is known to be a bit..er..."excitable"..i would think the mental part with him is more than half the battle so..

Gotta go with the contact play here, no?

ooh, cute blonde! but married, so at least i don't have to move to Minny! ; )

What a horrifically bad play! Omg, the tension!

That last batter was foolish to swing at the first pitch like that.

i'm definitely rooting for the twins by this point (not sure why)

did Nathan give up the run?!

[198] You would think...but what does the evidence say? Only Ms. October has cited any empirical evidence in support of the position that AJ's perceived comfort yields superior on-field results.

With his changeup, Rodney really has no reason to be overthrowing like he does.

[202] Me too. Why? I think because A) I 'm terrified of Verlander and B) they're a likable franchise and a likable people (the Minnesotans, that is).

ooh, NO DP!!!

Whoo-hoo! So draining!

Actually, a walk here isn't a bad play. Back up to double play depth.

Bring in Verlander! Bring in Verlander!

[204] "Only Ms. October..." I know, she's such a party-pooper.

Okay, thelarmis, how about a double steal NOW???

maybe I want detroit to win. I can't stand the metrodome... but the task of facing verlander is very big

[200] There are a lot of cute blonds in Minny...

Why do these batters keep swinging at the first pitch?

The steal...but now 0-2. Ick.

[209] No, because now the winning run is on. It's bad for the Tigers (and worse for us, because it increases the chance that the game ends on this at-bat!)

[211] YES!!! i'm all about it. : )

rodney doesn't have a clue where the ball is going

Hell yeah.

Okay, now we want a DP!

Well goddamn. Clutchy.

holy crapoli !!!

metrodome doesn't wanna close...

WOW!

[215] Oops...my bad..no steal there.

Haaaaa!

HOly fuck!!!

Incredible!!

It squeaked the fuck on through!

That leftfielder must want to die right about now.

Holy shit, that was a double play ball!

[204] and i'm not happy about it !!

[206] yeah i think i am with you on those points - my dad is still sort of a tigers fan, so in a way i would enjoy them making it, but not if he is going to be annoying
i think i am still pissed about 2006 too - plus i think leyland is a jackass

TIE GAME

I love Mariano...that's all...

[213] really?! then again, there are a TON here in Atlanta. doesn't do me any good, anyhow... : /

pavano vs. andy in Game 3 ?!

I'm not rooting for anyone, but I'd feel badly for the city of Detoit if this run scores.

[182] Please answer this question.
What is the difference between Posada's RC and Molina's RC over ONE game?

[226] that was a metrodome single... hate the turf

[219] Yep. And then Verlander coming in to pitch the 11th, 12th, 13th...

Piranha

c'mon double play!

[218] He doesn't... But with his offspeed stuff, he can sit low 90's and still get batters out.

Wow...what a game!

Unbefuckinglievable.

OMG!!!

baseball.

Line drive base hit Caray says. Really?

what a call!! i can't wait for caray!

jeez

ooh, was he safe???

Announcer called it a bse hit. Oops.

chip you fucktard - it is not a hit if it is caught in the air

Team full of ballplayers, is that anything like belly full of guts?

Yes, this one goes to 11!!!!

Did the Twins not have any PH option there for Punto???

This game just cannot get better

[239] um...it's : unFUCKingbelievable.

ahem.

WHAT A GAME!

[232] Good heavens...this has been written numerable times (by me): about .25 runs, or one run every four games or so.

Rodney's not afraid to lose.

(Victory Screech!) Woobloolboloobooblloooo!!!!

[245] announcer is a dickweed schmuckbag douchelord.

goes by Chip Caray. hate him.

What an unbelievable baseball game.

[232]

What is the difference between Posada’s RC and Molina’s RC over ONE game?

Monkeypants gave a good approximation here. Over the three PA you'd expect Molina to have, it's about a quarter of a run.

i think he was out. he wasn't tagged up, he had to go back to the base. stupid.

OUT AT THE PLATE. Bad jump off third maybe the difference.

[251] 'sup stranger?

Nathan already pitch, i take it? he give up the 5th run?

[255] In his defense, he's no Hawk Harrelson. But that's about the best I can say for idiot Caray.

[255] that is the only good thing about us missing most of tomorrow's game - no chip caray tomorrow

[250] NO SIR, thelarmis. Unbefuckinglievable is the correct infix terminology. I'll have you know.

[260] Yup. I would think that neither closer is available for tomorrow.

Bwahahahahaha!
evil hand rub

[261] True...at least Caray is not openly pulling for his team, like Hawk.

[254] is that the sound of a tiger or a twin or chip caray?

[259] Yep... Don't understand why Casilla didn't just plant himself @ 3b. If the ball goes through he makes it home, if the ball is caught he may makes it home.

[260] Nathan got five outs, I believe, but did not give up a run.

That was great - "base hit! Caught!" Ha

Does the MLB internet cam have a shot of Pavano hiding under a blanket under the bullpen bench? I know he pitched on Sunday BUT all hands on deck, Idle.

[267] Unless his fear was that on a sharp liner, he might not make it home from third? Naw...bad base running there. especially considering he was a PR (right?).

[266] I thought it might be the Score Truck backing up...

[263] yeah, yeah. never hoid of it!

remember when we wanted Mahay as a lefty bullpen guy a few years back. then, i think he signed a multi-year deal w/ KC and we still talked about getting him the following year...

[266] Sorry, working on my Waldman >;)

[272] oh sure, a midwestern score truck

[262] good point, ms. o !

[273] for some reason i remember william really wanting mahay

They've pitched around Mauer since his hit in the first. Homeboy's bound to win it.

[252] Great. Thanks.
A quarter of a run.
Now, how do we apply this knowledge to the 'AJ pitches to who' debate, and what are the odds there is gain... and how much?
Kinda tough to say, isn't it.

[264] another good point!

gardy won the bullpen chess that inning.

yeah, definitely a basepaths blunder by the kid...

[275] I'll work on that one...

looking at the box, Nathan pitched a lot (1.2 inn). rodney in for his 2nd inning.

miguel cabrera showed up. i'm not surprised. maggs too...

here's Emma's guy!

i dig granderson, but he's kind of an adventure in the field...

That was damned ballsy of Granderson after last inning.

Sweet catch.

Will they walk Mauer if they get this 2nd out? (the Bonds treatment)

damn might not want to get thrown out here

[270] Pavano under a blanket? Let me get a sock and bar of soap.

[279] We've been through this. You could read through the game thread, where monkeypants and Ms. Oct and I tried to answer those questions.

[287] Definitely.

[287] i wouldn't throw him a strike

Look MP.... Let's find some common ground.
Can you at least agree with [176]?

[287] I would. Don't let him beat you.

Cabrera's standing on 1st like a dope if his homer doesn't clear the wall. Dumbass.

wow, porcello pitched a damned good game!

i met andy van slyke at shea when i was a kid at shea.

That wasn't a strike.

wow this umpire has been getting worse and worse

Okay, not "definitely".

That was probably the Twins' best shot... Certainly their best hitters.

Can we change tomorrows Yankee game to 1 PM?

[279] Well yes, that has been the whole discussion.

To put that quarter of a run in perspective, it is larger that the entire advantage the Yankees have over their next toughest opponent, the Sox (the Yankees run differential has been about .16 R/G better than the Sox this season).

so this is going about as well as it could for us at this point

Cabrera had a right to piss and moan. That first strike was a few inches lower than the ball Raburn saw before tying the game. Oh well.

[292] Oh man, I haven't had dessert yet. Now I've got that in my mind.

[303] What "oh wel"? You aren't joining us in rooting for an 18 inning game??

[299] kubel and cuddyer can do some damage...

that shot was scalded.

[300] i would love a 1pm start tomorrow!!!

[304]
http://www.playerwives.com/mlb/detroit-tigers/brandon-inges-wife-shani-inge/

[305] But the longer this game goes, the more momentum, good will, and adrenaline the winner will have tomorrow. : )

We want Verlander! We want Verlander! We want Verlander!

[306] Bad news. Kubel's out for defensive replacement.

[304] Okay, I can't figure this one out. Why does Inge getting laid remind you of dessert. (I'm sure I'm going to be sorry I asked.)

[308] Arggghhhhh!

may have been smart to walk him. that was not a promising matchup for the pitcher.

[309] Damn, I forgot about the momentum. You're absolutely right.

Miggy looks OK. Wifey must have beat about 20 lbs off of him.

[309]
Momentum's only as good as the next day's starting pitcher.
We got CC.
At this rate, they'll have to drag Frank (Viola or Tanana) out of the mothballs.

[311] Pie?

Had to go there.

[311] It doesn't remind me of dessert...OYF's imagery has put me off my dessert.

[318] Ohhhhh.
I recommend some Scotch.

FUCK.

Uh oh. Very bad throw, very bad. Very bad.

[318] even before [308]?

[308] anyone ever figure out the nonsense tattooed up and down Inge's arms?

(apologies to tattoo lovers and if it says something special! just curious...)

damn.

[311] Well.... statistically speaking, the AVERAGE baseball player has a GL/N (Getting Laid/Night) of 0.312 (based on players ages 18-32, married or dating Kate Hudson) and MP has a GL/N of...
OH... NEVER MND!

[319] Or better...sweet, sweet bourbon. Capital idea!

It's amazing to see what the pressure can do. I have to think that both those outfield miscues were due to poor judgment resulting from the adrenaline.

Two HUGE mental errors.

Well, that was ot optimal by Young...

[325] There ya go!
Wait, why not Canadian whiskey? You aren't patriotic?

[314, 316] Just to clarify, I was only kidding about the momentum. They were giving the left fielder crap about throwing to the third, but it looked like Cabrera had a chance to cut if off. Possibly.

Look for shirt polish...look for shirt polish....

Wow, lucky there.
That's why you don't walk the batter even with first base empty in a tie game...

[328] he's not Canadian!

If there's a long fly foul, do you catch it, or let it fall??

[332] yeah but when in rome...

wait. ron gardenhire is a "master tactician"?! oh, okay. thanks, chip. (fuck you)

[328] You bet I'm patriotic...for the U. S. of A. I'm an expat of sorts, remember?

[354] ... drink grappa!

Will Chip Caray have an orgasm if Inge hits a homer here?

[333] i don't think you'd trade a run for an out at this point - what does your toy say?

[333] Tough call as the home team. I'd let it fall.

[333] i always wish they'd let it fall...

[325] Evan Williams here. Glad I didn't pick the wrong week to stop drinking.

[324] What's their grittiness factor?

[331] I was just saying that to my dad.

[328] Whiskey, scotch, bourbon - all very good no matter where they originate.

C'mon Twins, get out of this . . . we want 18 innings! (clap, clap, clapclapclap)

[337] Uh-oh. One of those.

What a fucking play by Punto. WOW!

wow. nice play by the piranha!

[336] I know, I was just giving you a hard time. Or trying. I like Canadian whiskey, myself.
[337] By which I meant [334]. Not good with numbers.

Oh, nice! My hat off to Nicky P. Credit where credit is due, even for small, weak, child-like baseball players.

[337] Ae you talking to me in the future, or have you been hitting the Canadian rye?

Anyone think they should have PR for Miggy there?

Who's up for inning 13?

[337] are speaking of your future drink?! ; )

[333] juggle it till you're close enough to home to make a play, then catch it

[350] Hopefully Verlander...

[338] Ouch! There goes tomorrow night's desert for MP.

Did anyone else think to themselves, "Gosh, I wish Bat-Girl was still blogging, to really put all this in perspective with Legos?"

I can't help but call Punto "Little Nicky Punto" in her honor.

For Fuck's sake. No bases loaded bb.

[342] i don't drink anymore...

i don't drink any less, either!!! : )

[354] : )

[352] You sound just like Jon Miller! Oh, now I remember, you discussed that with me. You just said that to goad me!

OMG!!!

WOW... : O

Wow. Did him a favor there...

WHOOOO-HHHOOOOOOOOOO. Pretty good for game #163.

[323] Looks like names

Beauty!

[355] I was thinking about her earlier.
I wonder if she might make a cameo appearance at someone else's blog...

quite a game - good to mostly just be sitting back and enjoying it

I said it before and I'll say it again: Papa John's is the worst... pizza... EVER!