USAFChief

if by bullpen you mean Taylor Rogers, then yeah. Agreed.

You could see the fear in Duffey's eyes tonight. That's why he'll never be a good MLB reliever, IMO. The stage gets to big for him sometimes.

It's fun to care about winning or losing again. I still maintain the Twins will not be able to survive this pen. But good win tonight. Hopefully Garver isnt seriously hurt.

sounds like a sketchy internet thing. Anywhooo, I stopped by my favorite bar again today on the way home. There at the bar, as usual, sipping his 3rd or 4th scotch of the afternoon, was my friend Alf. Alf is...old. Older than dirt. Older than me. But Alf is wealthy, and, well, he recently married a 21 yr old girl. Really, realy attractive 21 yr old girl. "Chief," he said, beaming. "My wife is pregnant. How about them apples. At my age! Still getting it done." "Well, Alf," I said. "That's...interesting. Tell me something...Do you remember when you went hunting last fall, and you forgot your gun, and took your umbrella instead?" "Yeah." "And do you remember you pointed that umbrella at a deer, when 'bang bang,' and the deer fell over dead?" "Yeah." "What did we decide about that situation, Alf?" "We decided someone else shot the deer." "Precisely. You see my point, right?"

https://www.athleticsnation.com/2013/8/7/4590940/a-statistical-defense-sort-of-of-the-sac-bunt try this. Unfortunately, it doesn't cover bunting a runner from 2nd to 3rd with 0 out.

I see you're in CA...did Hicks thrash you soundly on the golf course?

I would argue the person who posted that rather limited and incomplete article about "run expectancy" used math exactly that way. Maybe I understand math better than people that understand math.

There is a place for math, but in this case, the math is fuzzier then it first appears. First, the math assumes that all base/out situations are created equally. That 2nd base, no out, with a hard throwing reliever against the bottom of the order is the same as 2nd base, no out, middle of the order against somebody's tiring 5th starter. That LH/RH don't matter for pitcher or hitter. None of this is ever true. This is a case where averages obscure the truth, rather than reveal it. There's an old saying...a statistician will look at a guy with one foot in boiling water and one frozen in ice and conclude, on average, the guy must be pretty comfortable. Second, having seen these studies before, I believe the math shows that in certain situations, sac bunting actually increases the chances of scoring exactly one run, while lowering the chances of scoring multiple runs. And I agree with RB...there are situations when scoring one run is so important that I'd be more than willing to lower my chances of two or more to increase my chances of one. And third, I don't even care if Kepler bunts there. A sac bunt attempt isn't guaranteed to advance the runner either. But if the team isn't going to bunt in that situation, then the hitter absolutely, positively, has to sell out to hit the ball to the right side, to maximize his chances of advancing that runner to third. In this case, Kepler swung wildly at the first pitch, a pitch that was very "pullable," and then got beat on a pitch away, which he had little chance of pulling, and popped up weakly to the left side. That's a failure to understand the situation, IMO, not just a failure to get the job done. It's the 8th inning. Your first priority has to be "get this sucker tied up."

The headline is correct. I remember him.

There are still times when "productive outs" really are productive. No matter how hard some people scoff at the idea. Sometimes you fail, everyone does, but that was a terrible PA by Kepler. Not just unproductive, uncompetitive.

When people claim RBI don't matter, don't believe em. Get em tomorrow.

We don't have a walk off yet this year, amiright?

I'm officially tired of the Arby's sandwiches guy.

The top of the Angels order might be the best lineup in history!* * judging by tonight.

Man, Schoop really turns the DP.

Cave's in Rochester.

*(*$*((#(# ((( ((#(#()))@)@_@_@. ((#(#). *((*$(($($)($()())$)$)$__$_$_$___#_#+#+#++@+@)$(%*#)_@_@u!!!!

Multiple guys coming out of the pen throwing high 90s. Must be nice.

Terrific AB, Max.

indeed.

Two out RBI. Please.

Top of the order. Let's do this.

This offense looks way different without Cruz in the middle of it.

The problem with this game so far is the offense, and Berrios, not shifting.

Well that was a hit specifically because they shifted out of the shift.