We interrupt another day of madness with some relief in a minor note. A baseball game means nothing in the big picture but as a momentary diversion it will do. The Dodgers will try to find someway to get to the Great Verlander, or at least survive him and beat up on the bullpen, as they try to force a seventh and deciding game. If they do manage to win it wouldn’t it be fitting if Justin Turner—the Great Pumpkin—played hero?
My money goes on Verlander and the visiting ’Stros to close them out but here’s hoping it goes the distance.
Never mind the craziness:
Let’s Go Base-ball!
Picture by Bags
I hope ya’ll are safe. Local Fox station still in dispute with Directv, no WS for me?
Oh, good. I can type fuck verlander into the intertubes one last time. C'mon, game 7.
I haven't watched every inning of the Serious*, but during what I have seen, I find myself trying to weigh how the Yankees would have fared against this Dodger team.
I don't have a clear answer. Curious to know what others think.
And yes I know this runs up against Michael Kay's "Fallacy of the Predetermined Shut Up, Michael." It's just an idle thought exercise.
*Cuz I gotta get up in the morning! My favorite WS tweet, from Sunday night:
Monday, 10 a.m.
Wife: So are you going to work or...
Me: ITS TIED AT 38 AND PUIG IS PITCHING. IM TAKING A VACATION DAY.
NY Banters, I hope you and yours are all safe. It never seems to end, fer fuck sake. You all have my good vibes and warm wishes.
On baseball...man, what a Series this has been. I've been watching a lot of it. Incredible.
Darvish for all the marbles today. He has a shot at redemption, but I don't see him going more than 3. I know this is not a popular sentiment, but Go Dodgers!
FFS, Darvish! Keep it close!
Darvish has shitting the bed for the WS.
Hit the showers, Yu.
Kershaw is a stud.
If the Yankees laid a dud like this in Game 7 of Serious it would be profoundly disappointing. Almost as disappointing as getting shut out in game 7 of ALCS. Bollocks to texas.
The one thing about the Yanks getting so close, and losing, was that I didn't feel motivated to watch much of the series. My loss I guess. I rooted for Houston though since I don't like LA and also because I'm hoping they'll not be as driven in 2018.
[10] The season ended for me after the ALCS. I'm not a fan of either place, honestly. I guess it was a great series, but eh, whatever. I'll be that guy for this iteration of Yoobs. Next season plans to be really interesting...
Woo hoo, Tanaka is staying!
[12] Hurah, hurrah. Let's hope he has a decent season--- in addition to a GREAT postseason in '18
Rest In Peace Roy Halladay
Wow, Roy Halladay.
Maybe he'll play long toss with Cory Lidle up in the Great Bullpen.
[14] Far too young. HoFer IMO
[16] You're really gonna have a hard time with this then...
[15.16.17] Awful....
Well, the 野球 world here is abuzz with what Shohei Otani is going to do...
[17]Saw that. Awful.
Some good news: I read somewhere that David Cone might be interested in the manager's job.
Why not give him a team in the minors to manage first and let him work out his style and approach there? Or is he only interested in managing this iteration of the Yankees? I’d be very wary of anyone that flighty.
Now Aaron Boone is also being mentioned. Same thing applies. From the list suggested by MLB Trade Rumors, Jay Bell, Josh Paul, Reggie Willets, Hensley Meulens and of course Tony Pena all have coaching experience in either the majors or minors. Thomson has already interviewed. Yet Cone, Boone, Jerry Hairston Jr. and at one point Raul Ibanez were or are being considered serious candidates because they "know baseball"... thinking the hot stove is getting a little too hot for its own good.
fun little article for tribesmembers :)
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/21329761/alex-bregman-joc-pederson-headline-best-week-ever-jewish-baseball
Coney would be *awesome* as manager!
great, great stuff at RAB lately, per usual.
[21] Not expected to get above freezing today. A hot stove goes well with staring out the window and waiting for spring.
I see Otani is going to be posted. The Yanks are in the top 3 of teams with the posting fee to pay him.
I think Tanaka staying with the team, and this core and being able to play in NY will all appeal to him.
It is also interesting that the Yanks now have an opening at DH. Just in case Otani doesn't hit MLB pitchers, they can always toss in someone to give them a day off.
Let's sign this guy pronto.
Really hope we can keep CC for anopther year. I'd guess he'd take a low-ball contract with incetives. Seems he wants to see things through. Otani is interesting, but not every Japanese phenom makes it in MLB (but yes [25], sign him! Maybe the Yanks can get around the salary limit issue by promising him he'd be a DH a couple of days between starts.
26) Otani would also benefit from more lucrative endorsement deals in NY.
I think having Tanaka as a mentor would be a huge draw too.
The Yanks can offer Otani more money than any other team with the exception of the Rangers and who the hell wants to pitch there?
26) I too think one more year of CC would be great. If he could give 6 innings every 5 days and also be a clubhouse leader, he is a plus.
Hope Matsui would be on board with mentoring him as well if the Yanks do land him. Not gonna go for the Babe Ruth comparisons though; we had the “Japanese Nolan Ryan” at one point and that never even came close to fruition. All I could hope is that this guy has a decent amount of power to drive in runs, but more importantly be a high on-base machine. Clutch, baby!
[28] I'm not a scout but Otani looks like the real deal. He's huge, can hit 99mph and has great bat speed.
No 'effing idea what Cashman is doing with the managerial search..Eric Wedge?? Surely he has a more inspiring list somewhere. And please, no Flaherty or Boone..
[29] Yes. Eric Wedge sounds like he'd be divisive. ;>)
David Cone wants to manage. We WANT CONEY!
[26] The thing we should remember with Otani is that he is still developing, even in the NPB. He's a phenom because he's so young and good and has all the potential, but he's not coming over like an Ichiro or Matsui, in that he is not a tried and true superstar with a long NPB resume.
He can be seen as a pick-up for the long game, with room to fail and improve...especially for the peanuts he'll be paid at first.
Beli is retiring. Thanks for all the great baseball the past 20 years, Carlos! See you in Cooperstown :)
[31] I agree. Not knowing anything about him except what has been reported, at his age and professional experience, I would hope that if the Yanks get him, there would be patience enough to let his game adjust in the minors and bring him up when his game merits it, just like with Judge and Sanchez and Torres and Adams and such. I also sense a precedence that could impact the Nipponese leagues... it seems that it's something highly discouraged for young players from Japan to seek to play in America without playing in Japan first; forgive me if I'm wrong.
Would Otani following this track (if it came to pass) encourage other young players to bypass the Japanese baseball system altogether if they indeed wanted to, and what impact would it have on the leagues and the players themselves? Is this something that Japan is fighting hard against or are they open to compromise or another scenario not present? Is any of this taboo?
Judge unanimous ROY! Well done.
And Bam Bam might be consider for manager. He speaks English, Spanish and Japanese among other languages.
[33] For the record, although Otani expressed a desire to sign with the MLB right out of high school (and was pursued by the Yankees, among others) he ended up signing with Nippon Ham, with 2013 as his rookie season. So he has 5 years of NPB experience but is only 23.
I think NPB should do every thing it can to prevent Japanese H.S. players from heading to the MLB. It would kill baseball here, which is already No. 2 among young people who now prefer soccer.
This is a question for Jason Coskrey: @JCoskrey
RB suggests Yanks go after Stanton. Hard to imagine a lineup with Judge, Sanchez and Stanton. Talk about a murderers' row! They also report that Boone and Bam Bam are real candidates. Hmmm... While I'm not sure about Boonie, it would be great when we play the Sawks.