ashbury

Rojas? Best utility infielder in the game IMO.

Taking the hittable curveball for 0-2 was the key moment for Kirk. I thought he was gonna hammer it.

Son Cashbury and I were calling it semi-intentional. With Kirk coming up, almost mandatory.

Well, this is deflating.

OK Jays, one more chance to show us what you've got. This could be epic.

It was certainly setting up like an ending for the ages.

Twin Daily: come for the baseball, stay for the old-timey 17th century disses. 😄

The official rule is a bit lengthy because it covers many cases, but is written pretty unambiguously: Rule 5.05(a)(7): Any fair ball which ... sticks in a fence or scoreboard ... the batter and the runners shall be entitled to two bases Your interpretation of "stuck" is more like "inextricable," and that isn't a common sense interpretation of the words in the rule. The centerfielder and the umpires were on the same page right away regarding the rule. The ball didn't bounce when it hit the wall like it usually does - it stuck to it.

What I remember: catharsis.

We're back to echoing Terry Ryan's old lament: sometimes you just can't get free agents to take your money. AKA the Small Market Blues.

It would be cool if the site administrators would take the word "BREAKING" off of the subject line after a day, so that I don't keep thinking something interesting just happened each morning. 😄

I figured there had to be an official rule covering the case but couldn't find it quickly last night, and assumed it was some sort of ground rule. I looked again this morning and found Rule 5.05(a)(7). Among the cases it covers is "...or which sticks in a fence" in which case 2 bases are awarded. The rule doesn't say it has to be un-dislodge-able, and by ordinary use of the word "sticks" I'd say the replay confirms that that's what happened. The ball didn't bounce like one normally does - it stuck to the bottom of the outfield wall. (Maybe the rules should be rewritten to get rid of the quaint term "fence.") One might wonder why the case last night is different than the ball taking a "bad bounce" that similarly defeats a good defender's positioning, but I can't think of a way to reword the rule that wouldn't lead to hair-splitting in the heat of the moment. A ball hit to that spot, landing either six inches further or six inches shorter, would be a run-scoring double with ordinary defense. The rule recognizes that but shortchanges the lead runner by probably one base. Toronto fans are left in the position of pleading for a fluke outcome akin to a bad bounce that didn't actually happen, in order to score the tying run in addition. And allowing that first runner to score (by a slightly changed rule) would not have changed the situation when the game-ending play happened - Barger would have had the same incentive to be exactly as aggressive, and would have been burned. Good straightforward call by the umps, I say now.

Absolutely. But I still feel bad for him - he had multiple things on his mind since he wanted to score the tying run any way possible. Resulted in being the goat.

Whale of an entertaining WS!

We know what's going to happen as soon as we see the first frame but the video still delivers. They say an out-loud laugh is good for one's health. Thank you for helping preserve mine.

They're gonna pay someone ~$800K next year. Why not you and me both?

Under Toronto team control another year.

I know he likes the taste of bourbon, but why are people assuming Derek Shelton will arrive at his own press conference drunk?

We have recent evidence about that in Chicago and Denver. 😄

Billy Martin, firebrand that he was, got ejected from ballgames at a rate of once every 47 games across 2267 games as manager. Derek Shelton in his managerial career has been tossed once every 44 games and milquetoast Rocco Baldelli was sent to the locker room every 38 games. Both faster rates than Martin. Make of that what you will. Statistics for "Pitchers Punched" are not available to me.

I glanced through the list of 1st round and 2nd round picks by the Pirates. Not a very illustrious bunch, apart from the unicorn Skenes. The catcher also drafted 1-1, Henry Davis, has yet to pan out - as with another 1-1 pick of our local acquaintance, a succession of injuries may have sapped his talent. A guy you'd maybe never heard of (I hadn't), Carmen Mlodzinski, might be ready to provide significant value going forward at age 27. That's about it in the past decade-plus (and granting as always that maybe very recent picks will have altered the trend) - Ke'Bryan Hayes almost came through but wound up fizzling. I suppose you could reach back to Gerrit Cole as a draft success, but he was traded in 2018 and none of the talent they received in return was much of a factor one way or the other by the time Shelton appeared on the scene. Poor choices on draft day, or poor development in the minors, or poor coaching at the major league level with the manager to blame? "Yes," I suppose. 😄

It would be nice to think that Derek Shelton provided the best critique of what he saw from the outside, and was awarded the job on that basis.

Whew!

Less disturbingly, I found this old publicity photo of Derek Shelton from a prior employer, which I'll show next to a more recent shot of the handsome fellow. Hair's a little grayer now.

Heh. I'll take it as the compliment you surely intended. 😄 There are plenty of others here who have worked in an office/team environment too. Shelton's got the job but he still needs to sell himself to a new audience. Gotta ask questions you'll get an answer to, and not use the opportunity to simply vent.