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PLAYOFFS
Now what? A lot of these pitching staffs have been scrambled like a cheap omelette and we have a lot of Ultimate Showdowns in our future. And the coolest part is that the urgency of a 5th game prevents managers from reserving staff in order to line up their rotations for a 7-game LCS. They will have to carry their hash into the respective pennant series.
Kinda interesting to me is how the Astros are reacting to the idea of not sweeping the Rays. Losing Game 3, and losing it early and losing it by a lot, has panicked A.J. Hinch and company into being fearful of the Rays having established momentum. So Justin Verlander is being pulled back out on short rest with the expectation that there are another 7 innings of shutout ball and another 8 or more K’s up his lack-of-a-sleeve, And it is truly undiscovered country for Verlander......Tampa Bay will respond with one of their famous bullpen days.
For the Astros, Zack Greinke didn’t work out in the first game, and Wade Miley was not much better. Greinke is making himself a bullpen relegation at this rate. The Rays’ Charlie Morton, though, had wicked stuff. The Rays won that one 10-3 and now that series at 2-1 Astros. Greinke then had to take his social anxiety disorder into the jaws of a blood-thirsty press............
The Braves rolled out their late-signing Dallas Keuchel on short rest and he cratered (that’s not helping his upcoming FA plans). Fortunately. the Cardinals led with Dakota Hudson, who also face-planted, and in that game we went 10 innings and burned through 15 combined pitchers before Yadier Molina knocked a walk-off sac fly to win the game 5-4. That series is now tied at 2-2. And Molina may have crossed a line in his enthusiasm.............
(Let us pause for a moment and point out that home plate umpire Jim Wolf was totally lost on pitches below the zone all frickin’ game. He made more mistakes than I have ever seen in any single game.)
Then we had the Dodgers rolling out Rich Hill to face off against The Max Scherzer. The not totally rested Scherzer actually delivered. 7 innings, 7 K’s, 4 hits and only 1 run. Rich Hill was OK for the first 2 innings before turning back into a pumpkin. The real damage was done by Julio Urias and the Nats crushed the Dodgers 6-1. That series is also tied 2-2.
Finally we had the Yankees and Twins. Compared to the rest of the day, this was like watching the asphalt dry after the street paver had rolled it flat. 2-0 Yankees through 6 innings, 3-1 after 8 innings, 5-1 to put an end to the utter lack of drama............The 2019 Twins are done. Go home, Minneapolis. It’s Vikings season. And the Yankees are resting up.............
ANGELS
Relish some moar Jo Adell, on the top of the Prospect Hot Sheet this week...............
Trout Porn. Although it appears to me that Mantle, unlike Trout, is losing some torque there at the end as his front knee unlocks..............
MANAGERIAL MUSICAL CHAIRS
Joe Maddon interviewed yesterday. He wants it. The Angels want him. Forget all those silly rules about entertaining interviews with minority candidates (the other three interviewees on the next few days must feel like cannon-fodder). So Joe Maddon Joe Maddon Joe Maddon Joe Maddon Joe Maddon Joe Maddon Joe Maddon Joe Maddon Joe Maddon.....And then Joe Maddon Joe Maddon Joe Maddon Joe Maddon Joe Maddon Joe Maddon........
Which brings us to late breaking news from last night...Joe Maddon is expected to be named LAA manager next week...........The interview “went very well”...........
Also late last night, Ron Washington might be in the mix for the Padres................
BASEBALL
Into our mind share now comes left-handed slugger Yoshitomo Tsutsugo. The NPB is posting him to MLB teams and he bidding will soon be open............
As SportsIllustrated dissolves, here is some insider perspective from UniWatch, as Paul Lukas lost his partnership not too long ago............
Yeah, Mickey Callaway ain’t the guy to manage the Mets, but he ain’t their biggest problem...........
My own expectation is that the Gerrit Cole sweepstakes is merely going to embarrass the Halos this winter. We will be that awkward girl who the cool kids dress up for prom just so that they can laugh at us when we walk into the school gym looking like a giant soap bubble. But setting aside that, I would like to think of Cole as the mound version of a Mike Trout. There are only 333 days difference between their ages (Cole being older), so Cole is still young - especially by pitching standards. But the impressive part is how Cole keeps improving. He’s a likely AL CYA winner in 2019 and he is only getting better!......Just be amazed at this overlay..........
Yasmani Grandal, though, I still want that guy. If Arte is throwing money around, he is gettable...........
This article is a re-publication, but let us not forget the importance of Curt Flood..............
Keep in mind when you read this amazing stat that Jose Altuve has played in 35 playoff games already...........
And David Freese is doing his post-season magic again............
Good Lord. Let’s look at Charlie Morton witchcraft. You might be able to get a piece of his fastball. You might be able to get a piece of his curveball. But, in either case, only if you know which one is coming. Because if you do not know that, you are shitting your pants.........
(h/t reddit) Win the AAA national championship, get your champion winning payout of a whopping $0.............
Ladies, take the field.............
STUFF
Go ahead and mock Bryce Harper now, Nats fans. But if you lose Game 5 you know you will be creaming about how having a Bryce Harper would have put you over the top. You are 3 for 15 with 0 extra-base hits out of your RF so far...........If they hosted Game 3 between the Rays and Astros back here at Angels Stadium, they would have had a much better attendance result............Red Sox social media maven gifts Twitter with a “complete this caption and make us look like shit”...........Yadier Molina sets the new Olympic record for Bat Flip, Men’s...............