Posted by: @lee

The Red Sux are on pace to win about 87 games and get in. Given their start, that is pretty good. I like their lineup, not sure about the rotation. I like Tampa but losing Franco for two months will hurt.

Go Tigers! 😛 

Unsure about Franco, he's Wandering the way of Tatis Jr., Adalberto Mondesi,....they've kicked our butts this year - we sure need these next 3 - 

Just saw the Blue Jays fired Charlie Montoya. That floored me. I know they are struggling now but at the moment they are in the playoffs.

Wow.

My wife is going to the Chicago Flubs game tomorrow with a vendor or something. So she gets paid to be at work and she gets to watch a game. She isn't even a fan but she likes Wrigley. I guess any Friday getting paid to be out of the office is a good thing.

I starting watching some of The Home Run Derby last night. A lot of pomp and circumstance of course. In watching the "pre game" thing they said they will put all the numbers at the bottom of the screen, and they did. For easy following. I didn't find it easy. And the split screen thing made it impossible to see where the ball went. I watched one match and turned it off.

But regarding the game itself, is anyone interested? I will watch some of it just to watch the Flubs, White Sux and Tiggers guys. And Pujols. Kershaw starting at home is kind of cool.

When I was a kid I would get out my baseball cards of all of the guys in the game. 😀 Then as guys were replaced I put put another card in. I put them all in their positions on the field. I was kind of a baseball junkie.

And a dork I guess. 😛 

I've always found the All-Star week to be a nice break from baseball for not only the players, but for myself as well. HR Derby is usually more interesting than the game.

So what did everyone think of The All-Star Game? I was bored frankly. All of the bells and whistles I guess so people would be interested. Wiring the players and the home plate ump. To me it didn't seem like a baseball game, it seemed more like an award show or something.

But I get it. They need to keep people interested. 

I know, I am a grumpy old man. 😉 

Wow. Not only did the Blue Jays drop 28 runs (on 29 hits) on Boston, they pulled off an inside-the-park grand slam.

Posted by: @porkchopbob

Wow. Not only did the Blue Jays drop 28 runs (on 29 hits) on Boston, they pulled off an inside-the-park grand slam.

The  same Bluejay, Raimel Tapia, almost had another inside the park grand slam today. He hit one out to the triangle in Fenway CF and if the Sox OF had not cut it off he surely would have had another. Fast dude.

Mets have more than held their own w/out deG

Same Dodgiz w/no Walker B - Astros, again, same, no 2021 hero Lance Jr., no problem -

bad break for our hoped-for returner, Chris - he was 5-1 in a half-season's work last year, was hoping he'd be as effective this half-season too

now Jacob returns tmrw, McCullers Jr. sometime this month - Walker expected to be ready for playoffs for LAD - no timetable on Chris' return -

finally, qwik check on everyone's favorite hurler, Stephen, same thing, no timetable - likewise Tatis Jr., SD has done well in his absence this season

Aaron Judge & NYY have gone flat nuts this year - they're being compared to their 1998 team, their 1976-78 powerhouses, their 1950s-early 60s squads w/Mickey, Whitey F - & yep, even their Murderers Row wrecking crews w/the Babe, Lou Gehrig etc

Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani will command the first billion dollar contracts -

but never mind all that - going into the dog days of Aug, all we can do is play like junkyard dogs & claw back to top of 4-way AL East cluster - none of the 4 teams is likely to finish below .500 - we're 6.5 GB Tor, there's still enough time to make it up -

we clear the cellar, then pull away from .500 again, so that by the pivotal Labor Day wknd, we're poised to burn down the stretch -

we all know it has to start this week, & where-better but in old friend Hou - Justin Verlander, 39, will get the Cy but he should get MVP too imo - he hadn't pitched in 2 years -

if Hou is healthy, Jr.'s return makes Astros as solid of a favorite as NYY or LAD - same Mets & Braves too - Mets are W6, who knows how crazy they could go w/a healthy deGrom

Celts made finals w/patch #24 - 6 deserves to be patched onto Sox unis for these last 2 mos imo - over the top? perhaps - no it's not the Celtics - yet I still think Russ would approve

let's go Sox

@stephen 

I read conflicting reports on where the Red Sux stood on whether they are buyers or sellers. Personally, I would stand pat. And while I don't know the contract status of any of these guys, I think they have a good core of players that I would want to hang onto.

Alas, that is not how the game works anymore.

Great job by Cashman to upgrade not only the outfield but also getting Montas and a couple of promising relieve pitchers without giving up their top prospects.

Looks like he just traded Gallo to the Dodgers for a legit pitching prospect as well. I like how the Yanks look after these trades.

There have been amazing trades this year. My God if the Padres can't at least play the Dodgers in the NLCS something is wrong with them. And they are supposed to get Tatis back!

I didn't see that the Yanks were able to dump Gallo. Not sure why the Dodgers would want him.

At the moment the Cubs still have their top three guys probably wondering where they are going. They better make a some decisions soon. Seems like a lot of potential trade partners might be gone.

Happy with the moves the Yankees made but the last second Montgomery trade was a bit of a head scratcher for me. He was a solid middle to end of the rotation starter who usually had an era under 4.00 and was a quality lefty which are not easy to find. He was also under control for next year.

I have no issue with getting Bader, as he is an athletic gold glove CF, but not sure he was worth trading a solid LHP for him especially as he may not play again this year with his injury. Maybe someone who roots for the Cubs or other NL team can give me a better idea what the Yanks are getting in Bader? Seems like a poor mans Brett Gardener who strikes out  a lot and really is not a full time starter to me. Maybe this is  prelude to dumping Hicks in the offseason?

What happened with the Cubbies rebuild? I was surprised they did not trade Contreras and Happ yesterday. Maybe they needed to keep a couple of fan favorites for the fans to root for?

And lastly what is the Red Sox long range strategy exactly? They trade their starting catcher and they look like sellers and then make several trades for replacement type players. I have a few Sox fans friends who are completely confused by what Sox Management long range vision is and why they did not trade some of their vets that had some value to get back some prospects to speed up any rebuild.

I just found out my buddy from Wisconsin has a bunch of Brewers ticket vouchers to use up by the end of the season. So he is going to take a few of us from Chicago up there to see them next week. Never been to that stadium so I am pretty excited. 

I looked up the promotions and it is kids and seniors day. I figure I probably qualify for one of the two. 😛 

I just saw that Tim Anderson is out for up to six weeks so basically about to the end of the regular season. I kind of doubt with that they will make the playoffs so essentially until next year.

And I think he is serving a two game suspension at the moment for whatever he does. Always something with him. Glad I don't like the White Sux.

Tatis jr suspended for 80 games for testing positive for the steroid clostebol. He says he was taking it to treat ringworm and it is also used for treating skin conditions so maybe he was unaware of what he was taking as it is a weak steroid evidently.

Wonder if MLB will give him some slack if he was prescribed the med for ringworm?

@bill_graham 

Was that tongue in cheek I think? When I saw that I laughed. Ringworm. Who came up with that?

Posted by: @lee

@bill_graham 

Was that tongue in cheek I think? When I saw that I laughed. Ringworm. Who came up with that?

Could be lee but that med is used to treat a skin condition and ringworm is a skin condition so it is always possible I suppose though unlikely according to this article.

https://sicscore.com/mlb/updates/fernando-tatis-jr-suspension-what-is-clostebol-and-could-it-treat-ringworm  

Or he was taking it to try to speed up his wrist healing but supposedly it actually  inhabits bone healing.

I am sure MLB investigated it thoroughly so he is paying the price I any case.

Went to Comiskey yesterday and saw the Tiggers lose, which didn't surprise me. Thursday I go to Milwaukee for the Brewers/Dodgers. Then Friday I get Cubs/Brewers here at Wrigley. So three games in six days at three different stadiums in two states.

Can't say I have ever done that.

we clear the cellar, then pull away from .500 again, so that by the pivotal Labor Day wknd, we're poised to burn down the stretch -

didn't happen - all we can do now is hope to finish w/a better record than the Central Div winner - that would be a first, as would a last-place team finishing over .500 - right now we're 2 GB GuarINdians & MN

not much of a season w/stuff like that to talk about

still envision a Hou-Atl WS rematch - LA is totally sick this year but will be an early playoff ouster imo

wait til next year

The Brewers are certainly doing a good job of getting me excited for Packers football.

Posted by: @porkchopbob

The Brewers are certainly doing a good job of getting me excited for Packers football.

Yeah, they hard to figure. When they traded their closer I thought they were nuts but he hasn't done anything for San Diego so I guess it wasn't that. They still have a few weeks to make up 2.5 games I think it is. They have Cincy at home this weekend so they need to sweep that!

Oh and when I went to a Brewers game a few weeks ago, I was underwhelmed by Miller Park or whatever it is called now. I've always heard so many great things about it. I will say the tailgate scene was really cool!

@lee

Yeah, they have their moments, but they've given away a few easy wins this past month. Hader wasn't a huge loss, but they don't seem to have improved any since the trade.

I don't love Miller Park either. Naturally it's going to have a solid tailgate, but inside it has that airline hanger-feel that the Colts' stadium has. The shadows on the field during an afternoon game must be a nightmare for hitters. It's pleasant inside, better when the roof is open, but pretty average as MLB ball parks go.

Speaking of, here's a cool video about the history of the baseball park and how city grids influenced their designs. He's kind of hard on Citi Field, which surprised me - I prefer it to new Yankee Stadium (and definitely an improvement over Shea).

As the playoff chase and October baseball comes into focus, I was thinking about a few things. Can Milwaukee catch San Diego for the final NL wildcard? And if they do, what will that like like for the Padres?

I doubt they will do it but I kind of hope Baltimore can somehow get in since they have been so bad for so long. 

I read an article that said the wild cards should want to be the six seed because of how they are doing the playoffs now. For instance, in the AL the last wildcard would play Cleveland at the moment. Is anyone scared of them? Or if Chicago gets in. Heck the White Sux are having problems with my Tiggers in Detroit. Cleveland at Chicago for three games this week which will be huge! 

Judge hits 2 more dingers today for 59 so only 2 more to tie Maris.

He also went 4 for 5 and is batting .316 and only one point from tying for the AL BA lead.

He really has a chance for thr triple crown. Just an epic offensive year.

So who gets the AL MVP? Judge or Ohtani?

Zdeno calls it quits - Z is great, watta guy - fine career for PK Subban also

RIP, Maury Wills - one of the real greats - his son Bump Wills was in the majors for awhile

I hope not, but looks like it might be a Subway Series - but still envision a Hou-Atl rematch of 2021 WS

Wait til next year

In their first year as the rebranded repackaged repurposed family-friendly antiseptically/culturally acceptable/accessible Guars - they've played like a Tribe under Tito & won the div title

Guardians, Commanders, .............

this one tho is certainly AOK - the nothing-to-do sensitive crowd will complain b/c it involves the name of a native Abenaki clan......

Anyways Suicide 6 is the oldest in Vt or anywhere (1936), it is claimed -- so named b/c someone said "anyone goes down that, it's suicide."

normally don't care for name changes, but Suicide 6 I guess is now Saskadena 6 - "chosen," they said, "to honor the native Abenaki, the original inhabitants of the land, and a connection to the deeper history of the mountain..."

Conversely, changing the name of Squaw Valley was unnecessary - supposedly a squaw was apparently considered a drudge, the offended claimed - Squaw Valley has a great history & I've heard is a top place to ski out west - can guarantee you its name only stoked skiers, didn't offend them - now they're calling it "Palisades Tahoe" - am not making this up - could they possibly have come up w/a more nondescript yawner

a more fun small ski area than Suicide 6 you can't find - applaud the name change, tho "Suicide 6 rocks' will always be in the lexicon 

Happy belated 80th birthday, Indians great Sudden Sam McDowell

4-way AL East cluster - none of the 4 teams is likely to finish below .500 -

No

just didn't think it'd be Sox to disprove that - now swept by Yankees

but yep, NL playoffs begin tonite in Mil & Wrigley - big ?, will Dodgiz & Cahds rest their reguliz - that'd favor Phils - they visit Cubs - those three will also be in a cluster for the 2 WCs if Brewiz beat St.L & LA beats SD

AL playoffs pretty set - Balt still has outside chance playing us this week....

hoping they won't fire Cora, but Boston coaches are dropping left & right nowadays

tough season

wait til next yee-ah :bball:

.314, 60 HR, 128 RBI

ups to Aaron Judge, can't be anything else, #s don't lie - he wants to stay in pinstripes which I think is great - maybe one day he'll have a place in Monument Park

he'll become the richest player ever this offseason, just as Stephen did after his big 2019 season

Stephen hasn't pitched since

Aaron has had his NCIs - gaudy contract & all, who's to say the injuries won't recur, just as they did for Stephen after 2019

Babe Ruth would be Shohei Ohtani's biggest fan - even Ohtani couldn't match the Babe of BoSox vintage tho - two time 20 game winner, 18-8 before that,

in 1918, 13-7, 2.22 ERA, 166 IP - at bat, .300, 11 HR 61 RBI

in 1919, his last year w/Sox, 9-5, 2.97 133 IP - at bat, .322, 29 HR, 113 RBI

then the roaring 20s in NYC, where the Bambino eschewed the mound to chew up pitchers at .376/54/135 in 1920 - followed by .378/59/168 in 1921

These stats will never be topped - the Babe hit .342 for his career for pete's sake

this year Shohei is 14-8, 2.47 ERA on the hill - .275, 34 HR, 93 RBI at the dish

The MVP debate is awesome - it's 50/50 straight down the line imo - Judge & Ohtani are both deserving

wattan ending for Albert Puljos - he's gotten some pitches to hit en route to 700, again that's baseball, the game we love

he could end his career w/a WS title too, you can't tell - Puljos & Cards beating Judge & NY in the fall/early winter classic - watta scenario

let's go Sox

Nice to see my Cardinals clinch the Central Division.   Let's go Cards!   Disappointing year for the White Sox - lots of injuries, but they have just been awful lately.