ashbury

And not to belabor the point, but I've seen comments that it's premature to assume the division and look toward the post-season. I'm not assuming anything - we could still finish out of the money. But the parameters for planning on June 9 have changed for our FO from some equivalent point six months ago. Then, we were coming off a mediocre season and didn't know what to expect in terms of higher performance we've all been awaiting for almost a decade. Now, we're contending. Let's prepare for success, as opposed to another lame "just glad to be here" appearance in a divisional series.

It can't be anything due to the performance last night, so I trust he has taken the AAA start as a positive, and will redouble his efforts to keep moving up.

Send photos if you can!

Detroit's lineup: Niko Goodrum ( S ) SS Christin Stewart ( L ) LF Nicholas Castellanos ( R ) RF Miguel Cabrera ( R ) DH Brandon Dixon ( R ) 1B Harold Castro ( L ) 2B Dawel Lugo ( R ) 3B John Hicks ( R ) C JaCoby Jones ( R ) CF

I'm fine if our FO determined that Kimbrel isn't the guy. But they need to get a guy for the bullpen. They need to get two, and I wouldn't be opposed to getting three. If their off-season plan was "let's play April and May to see what we've got among our large backlog of young arms," they have their answer by now and it's mainly in the negative. It's good to stay the course, but there comes a point where you can't. Last year the Dodgers got to the World Series because they had a deep bullpen. That allowed them to survive a 4.1 inning start by Ryu and a 4.2 inning start by Buehler and a 5 inning start by Rich Hill and still win those games against the Brewers - losing any of them would have been curtains. The Dodgers led their league in runs per game, but in the post season you can't count on that. In two of those games they used 8 relievers! In the regular season whoever uses the most relievers usually is the losing team. But the post season is a different game. (And yes, one of those games was 13 innings. But do you want to lose in 11 because your last guys just can't cut it?) If we got three new reliable arms, we still wouldn't have what the Dodgers found necessary in order to stagger into the World Series. But it would be a huge improvement to our chances on the big stage. Our bullpen is woefully unready for what we hope is to come.

The last few seasons tell me that it's really difficult to do .400 OBP for an AL season without 25-HR power. Maybe Arraez will develop into that, but for now I don't see it.

Not only was it a walk Astudillo drew, it was on the first four pitches they offered him! Apparently Pawtucket came into the game with an obvious plan for him, and he laid off. After that, it was vintage Tortuga, with him reaching a bit on some of his swings, but obviously things were going his way last night. Dobnak was perfect through three innings. It's often said that every no-hitter has one stellar play that keeps it intact, and I was wondering if that might prove to be the case after second-baseman Jordany Valdespin made a spectacular horizontal leaping grab of a liner by Sox batter Cole Sturgeon for the first out of the third inning. The no-no was broken up in the fourth, of course, with a no-doubt hit to left field and a wild pitch and a double to center which scored a run. Then Dobnak settled back down and pitched a clean fifth, and got the first two men in the sixth as well before giving up a couple of base runners and then finishing his night's work with a swinging strikeout. Early in the game his fastball seemed to be sitting at 92 MPH, but nearer the end I saw a couple of pitches at 94. He seemed to rely more on the offspeed stuff (curve or change, I couldn't tell you) to put batters away, though. Preston Guilmet needs some recognition for pitching two clean innings of his own in the seventh and eighth. I didn't have high expectations when Hildenberger took the mound, and I saw nothing to give me hope. He was workmanlike, and a few pitches fooled batters but mostly it looks like it's going to be a struggle for him to make it back to the majors. Arraez played shortstop and Rooker was in left, but neither of these players whom I was hoping to get a read on defensively was particularly tested last night. Astudillo continues to be the slowest player to go out to his position, reaching RF later than Cave managed to saunter out to CF. (Only Rooker trotted, FWIW.) Speaking of Cave, I thought he got a terrible read on that ninth-inning HR to left-center, not that there turned out to be a chance to catch it, a few feet beyond the fence. We've gotten pretty spoiled by our current starting outfield for the big club. Earlier in the day I got to see a couple of Red Sox players from the past. Catcher Rich Gedman (now hitting coach for Pawtucket) hosted a Q&A session - here's a poor photo but it's the best I thought to take: And here's '75 World Series hero Bernie Carbo, again a poor candid shot, of him listening to a presentation (he wasn't nearly as grumpy as this moment of concentration would imply): At the game, here's Wilin Rosario taking a cut at a pitch from Brian Ellington: I like their ballpark; sadly in 2021 it will no longer be used for AAA, as the team is moving to Worcester. Anyway it was a beautiful night for a ballgame in Rhode Island!

I watched Willians go 3-for-4* in Pawtucket tonight, so I can confirm your hypothesis. * Plus a walk on 4 pitches, his first time up!

It was indeed pretty bad and I'm going to cease commenting on it.

Hackimer, maybe? He's only been at AA a month, but he is about to turn 25 and maybe the brain trust wants to move him along a little. Sam Clay and Adam Bray are both a little older and with similar AA stats, so it could be any of them. Between injuries and ineffectiveness, so many other candidates for promotion have ruled themselves out.

Did you coin that semi-rhyming play on words yourself? A TD Exclusive? http://www.quickmeme.com/img/92/9253c5b2e9520394d06ef32b9764c42b71939dc83beca8333814a4bbed6265ab.jpg

Oh, that's right, the game couldn't actually end there. But it might as well, if he tied it up with a homer. I still call for a breaking pitch, any breaking pitch, and take my chances.

And somehow gets away with it. Maybe they were counting on the element of surprise. He can throw a breaking pitch there, and if it doesn't work he probably doesn't lose the ball game. Throw one of his mediocre fastballs, and the game could end right there. Not the call I would have made, but it worked out.

It's called a stage whisper, Diehard.

Luckily the moderators know that's a rabbit's foot.

He's batting .800 tonight. But it's an EMPTY .800. / obligatory

http://editions.lib.umn.edu/electionacademy/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2012/08/Checy.Chase_.jpg It was my understanding there would be no Physics.

He has to WANT to, though.

The Official Scorer needs a Buxton option to mark a single-and-steal.

Well there's one of 'em.

The guy on first? He gets a close up view, yes.

Forfeit is indeed always an option.

Ding ding ding. I had the worst and the best MLB experiences on consecutive games at old Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, a place with similar construction. First night we got cheap tickets which were downstairs and much of the play was obscured by pillars. Second afternoon we sprung for seats upstairs, and the seats were so close to the action that I felt like I could pluck the cap off the head of the on-deck hitter if I chose.