Considering I had to absorb the completion of a loss from the suspended game that started back on August 31, an 8-4 day isn't too bad. The Game of the Day feature fell for the second straight day as the Tigers lost to the White Sox. But otherwise, it was a pretty good day. Adam Wainwright won his 20th. Derek Jeter drove in three runs. Derek Holland continued his very good run and Josh Collmenter continued his fine season. Things went pretty well all said and done.
I never saw the Blue Jays jumping all over James Paxton like they did. Nor did I see the Padres pitching a shutout. The Rockies had ten hits and left ten base runners. They were 0-8 with runners in scoring position.
Tuesday's picks:
- The Yankees over the Orioles: I really like Buster Olney, but his screed the other day about Derek Jeter costing the Yankees a trip to the playoffs is just a bunch of B.S. and a bold-faced effort for him to stay relevant and hip among today's statistical writers. An Orioles writer wrote the same thing yesterday. Get a new narrative guys. There were a lot of things that went wrong for the Yankees. This really riles me up. Five more days and they are going to have to find something else to write about. Brandon McCarthy over Ubaldo Jimenez.
- The Royals over the Indians: I cannot predict the Royals worth anything. Nor can I predict how well Danny Salazar will pitch. He is at home, so you would think he would be better. Then it will depend on how well Yordano Ventura pitches. Oy.
- The Mariners over the Blue Jays: This start here will go a long way in helping me decide between Felix Hernandez and Kluber for the AL CYA. They are so close. Can King Felix close the deal with a wild card at stake? Or will R.A. Dickey dance his knuckler to a Jays win?
- The Tigers over the White Sox: David Price has been disappointing for the Tigers. He needs to get it together before the playoffs start. He should beat the White Sox. Meanwhile, Scott Carroll will probably not have a fun night.
- The Reds over the Brewers: Mike Fiers bounced back nicely from the emotional turmoil of hitting Giancarlo Stanton. He was great his last time out. The problem is that he faces Johnny Cueto tonight and Cueto is one of the best.
- The Marlins over the Phillies: Henderson Alvarez and Cole Hamels have both had very good seasons. The Phillies would love to climb out of last place at the Marlins' expense. Two things make me choose the Fish. First, they hit better against lefties and second, Alvarez is mighty tough to beat at home.
- The Pirates over the Braves: The Pirates hope to kick a dog when it's down. And the Braves have certainly been dogs. Alex Wood is a good pitcher. If he is himself, Gerrit Cole is better.
- The Rays over the Red Sox: Clay Buchholz has had some glitzy starts, but they are few and far between a lot of other crap. Alex Cobb is usually terrific but has had issues against Boston. The game could go either way.
- The Rangers over the Astros: The Rangers' hot streak at the end of this season is ruining their draft position. That might be a problem with management, but the players seem to like to play for this interim manager. Nick Martinez over Brett Oberholtzer.
- The Cubs over the Cardinals: The Cards are inching toward the division title and have played pretty well. Shelby Miller has come back in the second half to be much better. But I'm going with Kyle Hendricks in this game. Love the guy.
- The Diamondbacks over the Twins: Andrew Chafin is having fun in the Big Leagues. I still worry about his control. But so far, so good. He being a lefty makes it harder for the Twins who struggle against them. Kyle Gibson is more guile than skill.
- The Athletics over the Angels: This is the hard thing about teams that have clinched playing teams still in contention for the wild card. And it is kind of unfair. Sonny Gray has not been very good lately, but he has to be better than Wade LeBlanc. I mean, seriously...
- The Padres over the Rockies: Jorge De La Rosa is the Rockies' best pitcher and he should enjoy pitching at Petco. The only problem for him and the Rockies is that Robbie Erlin has been very good at home.
- The Dodgers over the Giants: This is a very big-time match-up. Madison Bumgarner is one of the best and Zack Greinke is nothing to sneeze at. The Dodgers need to put the Giants away. The Giants are very good and not being put away. Wow.
And the Game of the Day:
- The Nationals over the Mets: Good old Bartolo Colon will pour in fastballs all night and the Nats are a great fastball hitting team. The Nats have been sleepy since they clinched but I think they will have a big offensive game here and Tanner Roark will pitch five or six good innings.
Yesterday: 8-4, September: 180-123, Games of the Day: 100-65 (-2), Season: 1310-1057
4 comments:
I agree with you on the Jeter narrative. Usually it is coupled with the writers failing to acknowledge that the Yankees don't really have much of an alternative this year at shortstop. (That is probably an intentional situation by upper management to spare them being put into a bind if Jeter isn't performing well enough, imho. It's what I would have done. :) )
The narrative should be, 1) were the Yankees correct to let Cano go when his price tag was more than they were willing to pay?
2) How should the long-term contracts they have offered to players like Sabathia and Teixeira be evaluated based on their performance throughout their contract?
And 3) How should we evaluate the players they picked up in free agency and through trades for this season?
Yes, good thoughts, forged. Sounds like a good post outline to me.
(Sorry for the delay in response, I was traveling yesterday.) Thanks. I seem to get that a lot, although not so much in relation to baseball. :)
Btw, if you want to run with my comments as an outline and expand them out to a meaningful post (or posts), feel free. (Just give me a brief mention somewhere along the way.)
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