A slider is held like a two-seam fastball I think. Curveball you kind of snap off of one seam.
I think you got those backwards, based on how I was taught anyways.
A slider is held like a two-seam fastball I think. Curveball you kind of snap off of one seam.
Another weather delay in DC. Game will not start on time. First pitch is now scheduled for 7:30. Nationals still planning to have a ceremony for Chipper before the game.
It was a good run for the Pirates. At least they lasted to the middle of August this time and actually won their annual 19-inning marathon.
Maybe next year, Hurdle can keep them in it until September this time?
8 game winning streak? Winning 15 of last 16 home games?
Unbelievable.
Hopefully the game gets called. The Braves win by not losing.
Interesting lineup for Atlanta. Bourn, McCann, and Uggla all benched. Nats lineup is business as usual. Suzuki back in tonight.
ATL
1. Martin Prado - LF
2. Reed Johnson - CF
3. Jason Heyward - RF
4. Chipper Jones - 3B
5. Freddie Freeman - 1B
6. David Ross - C
7. Tyler Pastornicky - 2B
8. Paul Janish - SS
9. Kris Medlen - P
WSH
1. Jayson Werth - RF
2. Bryce Harper - CF
3. Ryan Zimmerman - 3B
4. Michael Morse - LF
5. Adam LaRoche - 1B
6. Ian Desmond - SS
7. Danny Espinosa - 2B
8. Kurt Suzuki - C
9. Ross Detwiler - P
For whatever reason, there's a segment of fans who seem more concerned about the 2015 Texas Rangers than what is happening this season. Even some of my colleagues in the media seem obsessed with trying to trade All-Star shortstop Elvis Andrus to make room for one of the top prospects in baseball, Jurickson Profar.
There seems to be such a fascination with the unknown that it causes folks to lose sight of what's happening in the present. The Rangers will attempt to make their third consecutive trip to the World Series this postseason. And that's just one of the reasons manager Ron Washington doesn't feel a lick of pressure to find more playing time for Mike Olt or endorse the arrival of Profar.
General manager Jon Daniels and team president Nolan Ryan recently indicated the organization had discussed promoting Profar to the big-league club before the rosters expanded in September. But when Washington was asked about this on his weekly radio show with KESN-FM's "Ben and Skin," he acted as if someone had set off a stink bomb. He pointed to the fact that Profar was only playing high Class A ball last season and said he didn't know where all the talk was coming from.
"You have to look at what type of team we have," Washington told me following Tuesday's 5-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. "We're trying to win a championship. If we were 10 games out of first place, some of those guys would be getting to play more. But their time will come down the road."
Daniels talks about having to balance his current plan with a three-year plan. But managers don't have the luxury to look that far down the road. As stubborn as he may seem at times, Washington is going to stick with the players who have won for him and only integrate young players such as Olt if an injury occurs.
Washington seemed offended by the notion that some folks wanted him to bench Michael Young recently based on his lack of production. Young is having a terrible season by his standards, but the manager hasn't given a second thought to taking him out of the lineup to create more opportunities for Olt or Craig Gentry.
"Michael's had 11 years of greatness, and people think I'm all the sudden going to turn my back on him?" asked Washington. "In a clubhouse, there's a thing called loyalty. It might be different in a 9-to-5 job, but there is something called baseball loyalty that I honor. And the great thing about Michael is that if you didn't look at his numbers, you would never know he was having a down season. He's still helping his teammates the exact same as if he was putting up big numbers."
Washington has the earned the right to handle his clubhouse any way he sees fit. Is there some frustration in the front office that he hasn't found more playing time for Olt? Probably so, but Daniels has too much respect for Washington to try to pressure him in that regard.
Washington's own experiences as a journeyman player have had a profound effect on how he handled his clubhouse. Near the end of his playing career, Washington had just hit .327 for the Houston Astros' Triple-A team in Tucson, Ariz. Astros general manager Bob Watson called after the season and offered him a job as a player/coach. Washington lit into him over the phone and told him that he was outperforming all of the organization's young prospects. He was insulted that Watson wasn't rewarding his performance.
Washington told me that story Tuesday night as if it had just happened. And I can't help but think those types of slights, real or perceived, play a role in how loyal he is to his veteran players. Maybe at some point he'll have to make way for Profar. But it's not going to happen this season.
"He needs to be in Double-A leading that group of players," Washington said. "He's definitely a talent, but the only way he would be playing for us is if we were 10-15 games out."
Maybe at some point Washington's stubbornness will become an issue. But with the Rangers sitting 21 games above .500 and headed to the postseason for a third consecutive year, this is Washington's call to make.
He's earned that right by being the best manager in the history of the organization. And it's hard to blame him for taking that credibility for a spin.
According to Chipper Jones, Fredi Gonzalez held a stern meeting with the Braves on Monday before their series-opener on Monday against the Nationals. Many feel this was in response to Brian McCann's public displeasure with being out of the lineup twice during the Dodgers series.
Fredi told the team that it was time to put their egos aside if they didn't see themselves in the lineup. He said he's no longer going to play people because he's "supposed" to because he doesn't want a repeat of 2011 on his hands again. Without naming names (although almost everyone in the room knew it was directed towards McCann), he said he doesn't want to see any clubhouse pouting or complaining to the media if they don't see themselves in the lineup. Fredi told the team that from now until the end of the season, he will be constructing his lineup strictly based on pitcher matchups and who's hot/who's not.
It took two games for him to put this into practice, running out a drastically different lineup Wednesday to attempt avoiding a series sweep by the Nationals. Both McCann and Dan Uggla, who are slumping terribly, are out. Michael Bourn is also out of the lineup, but Fredi said it's just a day of rest for him after getting hit by a Drew Storen pitch in the 8th inning last night.
I see Medlen's doing his usual good work.
I see Medlen's doing his usual good work.
Uh oh Pujols may pulled something
I hear that's easy for 40-year-olds to do.
Cripes, giving up a home run to this?:
![]()
ESPN has some terrible headshots.
Why the fuck do people want to change the program again? Because it actually works?
My Bay Area hatred is well earned. Moving from Pittsburgh to San Jose, and being the odd one out in terms of sports fandom, has always resulted in heated rivalries between me and my peersAnd a lot of your fan's tendency to flip between the As and Giants or Raiders and Niners depending on which team is doing well at the time, always rubbed me the wrong way. Pick a team and stick with it!
Goodbye James Loney.Red Sox placed Adrian Gonzalez on revocable trade waivers today.