:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47405408/usa-today-8856703.0.jpg)
Well, that was a badass day of baseball. Thanks to CBS Sports for corroborating a running tally I had been keeping, wondering what the hell was going on? 21 home runs on a single 4-game episode of Division Series playoff baseball!!
We now have 2 sudden death series', both in the American League since Texas could only win 1 of the 4 playoff games played there. And there is still a chance for another pair of sudden death series' but that would require that the Cubs and Mets both lose, pissing off a hell of a lot of you. But, hey, for those few of us who no longer give a shit, we want some playoff drama, baby.
By the way, did anybody else here in SoCal notice what I experienced last night? I had just gotten home and was dialing up the games on my boobless tubeless, zeroing in on the pair of NLDS games and the solo NFL game. I go the NFL game quick enough, but then totally confused trying to get BOTH NL games up. This was the precise moment that the Mets were overtaking the Dodgers in the bottom of the 2nd inning. And what had me confused was that we (well, at least ATT Uverse running into my neighborhood) FOUR channels broadcasting the Cards/Cub game and ZERO broadcasting the Dodgers/Mets game. One set of channels (I think it was the TBS pair - regular and HD) had jumped to a split screen to bring up the Mets action before going back to the Cards/Cub game. About 5-10 minutes later things settled down into both games being broadcast on their respective channels.
Anyway, we move on. Have some Blue Jersey Tuesday Links:
_______________
Angels Baseball
Headcount: Latest rumors are that Scott Servais, a rather hot commodity these days, is joining the cattle call down in San Diego for a new skipper. Because, believe me, that cattle call is already pretty long.............
Deep Thoughts: To give us Halo fans something to talk about, the official thought process might as well dwell upon the obvious. Trying to catch up with the dozens and dozens of ideas already bashed about here on HH, the LAA fan site considers what options exist concernign David Freese. The conclusion they come to is highly insightful: "The Angels' next third baseman will probably be dictated by the free market.".........
Know Hope: Or something. Matt Joyce still belongs to us. For a few more weeks, anyway. And that Matt Joyce needs to figure out how to make himself a better option than what all of MLB will be shopping for starting in November. So that Matt Joyce is sending himself to winter ball to "try to get back on track".. Nice of the dude to buckle down and focus in order to turn himself into something productive, right? Just in time for somebody else............
______________________________
Elsewhere in Baseball
Replay: Here we go, folks. We asked for better use of technology to get an accurate result on all plays. So now we are getting closer and closer and...well...close enough to be splitting of hairs. It's accurate. And it rewards the correct play by the defender, and everybody is going apeshit over what they consider to be ticky-tack..........And I mean, really, I could go on all day linking to articles and tweets wrapping around the axle over this one play.
Beane(y) Babies: Dear Billy Beane, Josh Donaldson is still playing baseball, and he says hello............Oh, and Yeonis Cespedes? He says hello, too. I hope the Oakland fans are enjoying these playoffs............
Chase Ugly: Give it to New Yorkers to really know how to roll out a welcome!. And somewhat rather subdued in their invective..............
No Cigar: Pretty damned close, there, Houston. Was that your Nelson Cruz moment? Because right now, it sure looks like it might be! We here in Anaheim kinda know how you feel, since we have had enough of those in our history.............
Too Late: Dave Cameron anticipated the temptation of John Gibbons to use David Price in relief, and he made a numerical recommendation to not do it. Gibbons did it.............
Oops: Leave it to Texans. Always counting their barrels before they gush..........
Buc You, Cubs Fan: Pittsburgh officials are investigating the takedown of a Cubs fan who attended PNC Park in a goat's outfit and was involved in a "verbal altercation" with Pirates fans. If there is one thing I know about a sports fan on the losing side who carries a badge, it's that they don't take well to debating with their desire to assert their authority. The video clip in question is here...........
Idle Hands: Now that the State of California is "suffering" through a budget surplus (thanks, America, for all your technology extravagance!) it gives the legislators sufficient time to dig into the long unattended crisis of MLB players chewing tobacco in our 5 pro stadia..........By the way, there are 10,393 public schools in the State of California. Only 4 of them were stupid enough to retain the mascot name of "Redskins", what with all the awareness brought forth recently concerning the Washington DC NFL franchise. But now we have an entire law to deal directly with those 4 miscreants. Like, couldn't the Governor have just picked up the phone?.........
Edumacation: For those of you out there who have argued that ballplayers are pretty much who they are by the time they get to the Big Leagues (you know who you are, so don't make me use the search tool), and that coaches really don't have that big of an impact, read all about the monster that Jake Arrieta has become, and how. Author Jonah Keri takes you back to this Baseball Prospectus article: "Pavlidis shot a few videos of Arrieta throwing under the watchful eye of Cubs pitching coach Chris Bosio. You can see Bosio working with Arrieta on his balance, particularly as he breaks his hands apart and starts to shift forward in his delivery. And in an MLB Network Radio interview from the same year, Arrieta talked about making sure that his shoulders were level, he wasn’t leaning back toward second base in his windup, and his left leg was moving down before he started shifting his weight toward home plate — all elements he worked on with Bosio."..........
Fail: It's worth noting to ourselves something that seems to have eluded Clayton Kershaw. That is, Joe Torre actually WAS a pro baseball player (57.6 career bWAR versus Kershaw's 47.2, for those keeping score), AND, Kershaw is also some dude popping off who not a middle infielder..............
Reynolds Warp: Harold, Harold, Harold. Canada? Really? This guy never seems to stop making me cringe at the idea that he once played in Anaheim...........
______________________________