MARCO'S BASEBALL
BLOG-O-ROONIE 2017: CHEATING CHEATERS WATCHING WATCHES
ITEM 1: CHEATING…
You can hardly blame
the Red Sox for trying. They've been incapable of getting
clutch hits against the Yankees all weekend. Sabathia
beat them with sliders, Tanaka beat them with splits and
Severino beat them with fastballs...(especially
Pedroia...welcome back from the DL Dustin! Here's a 100 mph
fastball on the extreme outside high corner...I see you're just now
swinging at that pitch but I have to tell you the catcher is already
walking back to the dugout with the ball in his mitt.)
So we now know the
Sox cannot hit the Yankees top starters. They're not very good
hitting the bullpen either. Maybe earlier in the season they were but
these Sox hitters look tired trying to put rallies together with two
walks and an error and then three straight guys fanning the breeze.
Meanwhile the
Yankees are assassinating the Red Sox starters...Porcello,
Pomeranz and even Sale...bingo! Sale has obviously pitched
too many innings this year. He's been getting lit up regularly
lately...several times a game he'll throw something with no snap and
the boppers are bopping him. The only Sox pitcher who had a good
outing against the Yanks was Doug Fister! He of the 85 mph
fastball. Fister works fast and throws junk and it worked...the
Yankees were discombobulated. They were so happy to go back to facing
95 plus fastballs again. Result: Yankees take 3 out of 4 in the
Bronx.
So now it comes out
that the Red Sox have harnessed technology and are using camera
coverage to view the catcher's signs, have a coach look at it on his
Apple watch and then relay the pitch to the runner on second base and
tip off the batter as to what the Yankee pitcher was throwing next.
(Not that it did any good, the Red Sox batters couldn't hit even when
they knew it was coming)
You knew that it was
just a matter of time with the high tech. The Sox brass didn't even
try to lie when the Yankees busted them...probably because they were
so unsuccessful even when they knew what was coming. They made some
lame ass claim that the Yankees were cheating too. Cheating Cheaters
never win!
HISTORICAL NOTE:
Except the 1951 New York Giants who placed a coach with a
telescope in the center field wall at the old Polo Grounds and
relayed the pitch to the Giants hitters. They came back from 13 ½
games down in the stretch and caught the Dodgers. Did Bobby
Thompson know what pitch Ralph Branca was bringing
when he hit the “Shot Heard Round the World”? Branca thought so.
I mean, if you cheated the whole last two months, why not in the
playoff? The Giants claimed that even though they had been stealing
signs for two months they didn't steal them in the 3-game playoff
against the Dodgers because Roy Campanella, the Dodgers
'catcher, had been hurt in the first game and his replacement, Rube
Walker, was too good at disguising his finger signs to the
pitcher. Ralph Branca, a stand up guy said “But Bobby still had to
hit the pitch and he did.” Hats off to you Mr. Branca.
ANOTHER
HISTORICAL NOTE: Tom Seaver gives Rube Walker credit for
making him a good pitcher when he was pitching coach for the 1969
Mets. Walker worked with Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Gary
Gentry and Nolan Ryan and made those young pitchers
better. He also instituted the 5-man rotation that year, which was
eventually copied by all of baseball. Walker's common advice to
pitchers? “Shut up and throw the ball.”
Anyway, the Red Sox
are hurting. They beat Toronto in 19 innings last night to
end their losing streak but they're only 31/2 games up on the Yanks
now and vulnerable. Also, Baltimore and
Cleveland have been beating them pretty good so they're not
exactly setting themselves up for the playoffs.
ITEM 2: ASTROS
GET A PITCHER...
Kudos to the Houston
Astros for realizing they really, really needed another starting
pitcher to do well in the playoffs. I think it would have been a
shame for a team that has never won a World Series and only even to
been to ONE in the entire 55 year history of the franchise not to
give itself a fighting chance at the ultimate Baseball Glory.
Therefore: Justin
Verlander. He cost them three good prospects...right
handed pitcher Franklin Perez was the Astros number 3
prospect. An outfielder and a catcher were valuable but not projected
as superstars or anything. The Astros still have a loaded farm and
those guys had no place to play for the foreseeable future anyway.
They also got the Tigers to send them the proverbial player to be
named later and a lot of cash to help pay Verlander's incredibly
bloated contract.
Verlander is 35 and
not an Ace anymore. But he is a powerful and still-effective pitcher
for about 6 innings a game. His ERA is 3.85 which isn't great, but
the Astros don't need him to have a 2.00 ERA. They need a starter to
give up no more than 4 runs a game so they can win by scoring their
usual 6. Justin gives them that plus a veteran presence. Can he keep
his fastball down in homer-happy Minute Maid Park? We'll see.
ITEM 3: I
TOLD YOU SO…
I told you that
Kansas City was doomed because the path of the eclipse came
very close to going over their city. Please note that the week of the
eclipse saw the Royals get shut out in an incredible 4 games in a
row! You have to listen to me when I propose these crackpot Bad Juju
theories!
(I admit the St.
Louis Cardinals and the
Atlanta Braves didn't suffer any worse than they'd been suffering
all year anyway, but let's ignore that!)
ITEM 4: NO
BACK UPS!…
Roster size has
become a major issue in baseball. Especially in the American
League. Right now (just before September call-ups) the Red Sox
are working with only three position players on the bench. One of
them has to be a backup catcher. That leaves them with one spare
infielder and one spare outfielder. Thus their reliance on
all-purpose utility players like Brock Holt and Eduardo
Nunez.
American League
clubs are all leaning toward carrying 13 pitchers. With the
designated hitter, that leaves only 3 spots for extra position
players. Hardly any pinch hitting, pinch running or defensive
replacements anymore. That's why I predict a coming surge of hitting
pitchers. Two-way stars like that kid from Japan, Shohei Ohtani
who can start or relieve and also play some first base or designated
hitter and be a dangerous bat. (1.002 OPS with 22 dingers and can
throw it 102 mph.)
Babe Ruth was
ahead of his time, wasn't he?
ITEM 5: DODGERS
TAILSPIN...MORE I TOLD YOU SO…
It gives me no
pleasure but I predicted because of the large discrepancy in the
number of home vs. away games that the Dodgers enjoyed in the first
half, they were likely to start losing that gigantic lead they had
over the rest of the division and all of baseball. Since going up by
21 ½ over Arizona they fell to earth with a large...SPLAT! Ever
since Rich Hill lost his no-hitter to a walk off, the 'Heads
have gone silent. They are 1 for their last 11 and Arizona is only 13
½ behind now.
Hey...don't worry
too much Dodger fans! This is actually a good thing for the Blue Boys
and I'll tell you why:
The Dodgers were so
far ahead they were actually on cruise control and losing focus. Now
they're pissed off. Their hitting will come back soon (Corey
Seager is back) and their pitching is still excellent. The
Dodgers will win the West for sure. But having Arizona sweep them is
the best way for Dave Roberts to get their attention and have
them start playing with deadly passion again, just in time for the
Playoffs.
ITEM 6:
CLEVELAND, CITY OF LIGHT, CITY OF MAGIC…
The Indians have
timed it right. They struggled early then gradually got it together
and figured out who could play and got their starters together and
got Corey Kluber in Cy Young winning form and now they have
left pretenders like KC and Minnesota in the dust. A
late winning streak of 15? Hitters like Ramirez, Encarnacion and
Lindor on fire all at the same time? Good defense, a
running game, power out the wazoo (or out the Chief Wahoo!). Tito
Francona healthy at last? Even if they don't get super reliever
Andrew Miller back, their bullpen is awesome?
Now they are the
scariest team on Earth and the Cleveland Politically Incorrects have
to be the favorites to win it all.
More Later! If
you're in Florida right now...Good Luck!
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